Refugees
by cheri1
Summary: Eleventh Doctor with Donna, Rose/Metacrisis Doctor. Fourth in my Family in Indiana series. AU. While helping to find a house for Lori's family in London, the Doctor gets a surprise visit from Rose and Metacrisis Doctor who are fleeing their universe after their Earth is destroyed. FINISHED.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the fourth in the series about the Eleventh Doctor and an Indiana family. The other stories are Happy Hillbilly Thanksgiving, A Country Christmas and Loss and Healing.

Chapter One

(June, 2014…)

Michelle was feeling sick today. She had the flu and while everyone else went with the Eleventh Doctor and Donna to look at a possible house in London, she stayed home and rested after the Doctor gave her something that would quickly combat the flu. She was lying on the sofa bed while Rex lay beside her. She was watching Cartoon Network and trying to keep still since she had a massive headache at the moment.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard an enormous bang inside the storage room. Rex jumped up and barked furiously as he ran towards the door. Michelle groaned and slowly sat up.

"That hurt my head even more," she groaned while she slowly stood up. "Rex, quit it! I have a headache!" she said, going into the unfinished room while Rex barked and scratched at the storage room door. "It's probably Uncle Doctor anyway."

She opened the door and Rex ran in but both he and Michelle froze. Instead of the TARDIS, there was an enormous sphere resting in the middle of the room. Rex sniffed at it and whined as he backed away in fear.

"Doctor?" Michelle said, walking over to it. "Donna?"

She touched the side of the sphere, wondering what it was. She had never seen the TARDIS as anything other than the blue police box. Could it change shape.

She backed up and Rex whined even more when she heard a hissing sound coming from inside and then slowly the sphere started to open. Michelle put her hand on Rex's head while the sphere opened up. Then the hissing stopped and she walked forward while Rex cowered by the door and whined. Michelle looked in and saw a man and a woman lying at the bottom of it along with two battered rucksacks. The two people had closely cropped hair and they were severely emaciated. Both of them were asleep or unconscious but after staring at the man, she realized he was the tenth Doctor. Her heart beat furiously. She thought she'd never see him again but she was alarmed how bad he looked. Not only was he thin but he and the woman were dressed in torn and ragged clothes and they had bruises and scars all over their bodies. Michelle noticed the woman was holding a note in her hand. She called out to them but they didn't respond so she reached in and took the note out of the woman's hand. She read it.

My name is Rose Tyler and this is my husband, John Smith. We have fled from a repressive world that has been taken over by aliens. We have come across the void in a void ship with the hope of finding a safe haven. If you find this and know how to contact the Doctor, please help us. If not, please help us anyway.

"Hey, Rose? Are you okay?" Michelle called to her.

She didn't respond so Michelle walked back to the TV. On top was the mobile, the Doctor gave them so they could contact him. She located the Doctor's mobile on the menu and dialed the number while Rex stood by her.

"This must be Rose from the Crucible and stuff," Michelle said to Rex while he wagged his tail. "And that might be the Doctor's clone! Hey!" Michelle said when the Doctor answered the mobile. "Uncle Doctor? I need to tell you something…"

She told him what happened and read him the note.

"Are they conscious?" the Doctor said when she finished her explanation and the reading of the note.

"I don't think so. I tried to talk to Rose and she won't answer or wake up. They're really, really thin and they look sick."

"Wait a tic, Bookworm…"

Michelle waited and rubbed Rex's head. She slowly walked back towards the storage room with the mobile in case Rose and the clone woke up.

"Shelly, I'm coming back with the TARDIS. Donna's staying here with your family. I'm going to bring them and you on board and fly back. If they're that bad off, I need to put them in the med bay. Okay?"

"Uh-huh," Michelle said.

"What time is it there, love?"

Michelle went and looked at a clock and told him.

"Brilliant, be there in a minute or so," the Doctor said.

Michelle ended the call. By the time she got back downstairs, she heard the wheezing of the TARDIS and she and Rex raced into the storage room where the TARDIS was landing beside the sphere. The Doctor smiled as he stepped outside and rubbed Rex's head.

"Feeling better, Bookworm?" he said to her.

"I was until this thing went bang in here, I got a headache now," Michelle said.

"I can fix that for you but for now…"

The Doctor walked around to the other side of the sphere and he and Michelle peered in.

"Rose? Rose!" he called to her.

"Is this Crucible Rose?" Michelle said.

"Yes and that's my clone. Doctor?" he called to him.

He sighed deeply when neither responded.

"They're in a void ship," he said, feeling the side of it. "You could stay ages in there as it went across the void. Who knows how long they were in there. Blimey, they've nearly wasted away. Do you feel up to helping me, Bookworm?"

"Yes."

"Good because they need medical attention now. I'll get them inside but I need your help stabilizing them. Okay?"

Michelle nodded. The Doctor reached in and pulled Rose up a bit so he could get her into his arms. He looked at her tenderly when he finally gathered her into his arms.

"She's lost so much weight, she's nearly weightless in my arms," he said to Michelle. "Stay with my clone while I take her inside. Reggie, follow me."

Michelle nodded and watched over the clone while the Doctor took Rose and Rex inside the TARDIS. While they were gone, the clone began to stir and Michelle called to him. The clone opened his right eye slightly.

"Hi, I'm Michelle," she said when the clone finally focused on her face.

"Where's Rose?" the clone said in a soft, scratchy voice.

"The Doctor took her into the TARDIS."

"He's…here?" the clone said weakly.

"Yes. He's gonna help you in a minute, he just took Rose back to his med bay thing."

"Who are you?"

"I'm Michelle, the Doctor comes to visit us and helps us and we adopted him and Donna and Amy and Rory and River. But none of them are here right now. Donna's in London with my family and the Doctor came back home when I found Rose's note. Are you the Doctor's clone?"

"Yeah. I prefer to be called John Smith though," John said, struggling to sit up.

"Hi, John Smith. Don't worry, we're gonna help you. Doctor, he's awake," Michelle said when the Doctor came out of the TARDIS.

John looked at him with his one open eye. He slowly opened the other one and the Doctor frowned when he noticed it was milky white.

"Are you blind in one eye?" the Doctor said as he and Michelle looked in at him.

"Yes," John said, nodding. "Is Rose alright?"

"She's weak. You and her are painfully thin which is why I need to give you immediate care. Can you stand?"

"I don't know."

The Doctor reached his hands in and grabbed his arms. John groaned while he helped him to stand. Michelle gasped when he teetered a bit on his weak legs. The Doctor urged him to come close and he slowly gathered him into his arms.

"I realize it's not dignified but this is quicker," the Doctor said to his clone. "Shelly, follow me."

The Doctor carried him inside and had Michelle close the doors behind them. He asked the TARDIS to take them back to London while Michelle followed him out of the room. He took him to the med bay while Michelle followed along. John looked at Rose who was lying on an examination table.

"Tend to her first, I can wait," John said to the Doctor.

The Doctor asked for a comfortable bed and after the TARDIS made one and put it in the corner of the room, he had Michelle pull back to the blankets and gently put him inside.

"What happened, mate?" the Doctor said while he and Michelle covered him up.

"Hell. Hell happened," John said grimly.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The Doctor started off by giving Michelle a little blue pill along with a small glass of water.

"This will help your headache, Bookworm," he said, giving it to her.

She put the pill in her mouth and swallowed the water. After doing that, John watched while she helped him pull out examination tools and an IV bag.

"Who does the child belong to?" John said to the Doctor while he prepared to insert the IV needle into Rose's arm.

"She is the child of a very dear family who has adopted me as one of their own," the Doctor said. "Would you like some tea?"

"Tea sounds great right now," John said.

The TARDIS made some and put it on the counter for him. Michelle took it and carefully brought the piping hot tea and milk over to John while John slowly sat up. He thanked her as he took it from her.

"I thought you were the real Doctor when I first saw you," Michelle said.

"I am the real Doctor," John said.

"I mean, not the clone," Michelle said sheepishly. "I know the Doctor that looks like you…or I did, I think he's gone now."

"Gone where?" John said.

"He changed into him," Michelle said, pointing to the Doctor.

"Well, I don't think of myself as a clone if you don't mind," John said. "I do have my own life now."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying to upset you," Michelle said.

"She's not meaning to offend so don't take offence," the Doctor said while he finished inserting the needle in Rose's arm. "My other self was just as involved in her life as I am and she only knew you as the clone from the stories we told her. She meant no disrespect."

"Yeah, I don't want to make you mad," Michelle said to John.

John chuckled.

"Michelle, you're the first thing in several days that didn't make me mad so no worries," he said before taking another sip of tea.

"What happened?" Michelle asked him.

"An invasion happened," John said bitterly. "An invasion that I as scientific advisor to Torchwood warned was coming but Torchwood and the governments of the world chose to ignore me and Rose because we obviously didn't know what we were talking about and they kept on ignoring us until the so-called "friendly" aliens showed their true colors. By then, they had a fleet encircling the Earth and there was little anyone could do. They invaded and killed half the population of Earth and enslaved the survivors. They threw us and most of Torchwood into a concentration camp and tortured, beat and starved us until Rose and I managed to make a desperate escape. We fled to Torchwood where they had a void ship in storage. We climbed inside with rucksacks filled with supplies after Rose wrote a note asking for help. We then used that dimension cannon and launched ourselves towards this universe in the hopes of finding you. We don't know how long we were inside the ship but we ran out of supplies and we grew weaker than we already were and we passed out, I suppose. I managed to wake up and there was Michelle."

"And you can't go back?" Michelle said.

"I don't know if there's anything to go back to, love. They were planning to ravage the Earth and strip it bare of all resources including the survivors. We would have been part of the purge if we hadn't escaped."

"And Jackie, Pete, Tony?" the Doctor asked.

"Dead. Jackie and Tony were killed in the first attack and Pete was tortured to death in the camps," John said bitterly.

"I'm sorry," Eleven said.

John nodded.

"They were lucky, it's the survivors who will have to cope with the hell that comes next," he said before taking another sip of tea.

"Donna's knocking on the front door. TARDIS, let her in and lead her here," the Doctor said, looking up at the ceiling.

"Donna, thought I'd never see her again," John said.

A moment later, Donna was coming into the room. She froze when she saw how haggard both Rose and John looked.

"My God, what happened?" Donna said, walking up to the examination table.

"Aliens took over the planet in the other universe," the Doctor said to her.

He quickly recapped what John said while he walked over and prepared to examine him. Michelle moved out of the way while the Doctor sat down on the edge of the bed and scanned him with his screwdriver.

"New model of screwdriver, I see," John said.

"Yeah, the other one got damaged shortly after I regenerated," the Doctor said. "You need an IV drip as well but I can hook one up from here. Rose is far worse so I'm trying to get her stabilized before moving her over here."

"She got the brunt of it, was trying to defend me because she was worried about my one heart," John said. "After all she went through with you, she was a little overprotective of me at times."

"Was she violated?" the Doctor said.

"I don't know, she won't answer when I asked her that. I hope not."

"I can check for that," the Doctor said gently. "Do you mind if Michelle keeps you company then? She's a bit under the weather but she's friendly when she's not being cheeky."

John chuckled.

"I would welcome the company of a child again," he said wistfully.

"Shelly, sit down and be British and I'll tend to John. Donna, help me," the Doctor said.

"Be British?" John said while Michelle took the Doctor's place on the bed.

"He thinks I gotta be British and say things like Macaroni Cheese and stuff like that," Michelle said. "Is Rose your wife?"

"Yes, she is so please respect that," he said to the Doctor.

"Well, I'm married to River so please respect that," the Doctor replied while he sat an IV bag and tube on a table by the bed.

"You are?" John said, surprised.

"I am. She's not here at the moment, she's out traveling on her own but yes, she's my wife now so I'm only interested in being a friend to Rose…and to you."

John considered that while he took another sip of tea.

"I haven't the strength to fight anyway, not at the moment," he said to the Doctor.

"I don't want to fight. There's more important things to fight about in the universe," the Doctor replied. "Besides, me and my tenth self fought on Shelly's birthday and upset her," he said, tousling Michelle's hair. "So I want to be friends with you."

"Me too," Michelle said.

John smiled at that and nodded. Michelle watched while the Doctor inserted an IV needle into his arm while Donna stood nearby. She got an IV pole for him when the Doctor was done with the needle and they hung a bag of saline from it. The Doctor checked it and Rose's bag and went to get two syringes filled with a pale green liquid from the counter.

"How long has it been since you've eaten?" the Doctor said to John while he walked over to Rose.

"Dunno. In the void sphere we lost all track of time, maybe two days…at least," John said. "I think because I'm part Time Lord, I was able to keep going even after she lost consciousness but I still drifted in and out. I still feel woozy even now."

"Have a rest then if you want, you can use that table there," the Doctor said as he inserted the syringe needle into the tubing and put the liquid inside it. "This will heal any internal trauma for her…and one for you," he said, bringing the second one over to him. "You look like you've been through hell."

"Hell is an understatement," John said.

He watched while the Doctor inserted the needle and put the liquid into his IV tube.

"If you're hungry, ask the TARDIS to make you some soup or something simple. I don't want you to eat any solid foods until you have some of your strength back. I can give you something that will put some weight back on you but if Rose doesn't wake up soon, I will have to feed her with a stomach tube. And your eye, what happened?"

John snorted.

"Punishment for misbehavior," he said bitterly. "I tried to escape once and got something poured in my eye that burned like hell and blinded me. We didn't try it again until there was a chance of success because that intimidated Rose more than me. Rose was terrified they'd do something to my other eye after that."

"I'll see if I can do something to mend it," the Doctor said, peering at it. "But…I want your weight back up, that's first priority. But for now, rest and spend some time with Shelly. Donna and I want to check up on the rest of the family but we won't be long. Shelly, if Rose wakes up, ring me, yeah?"

"Yup!" Michelle said.

"Shouldn't be long. I know everyone wants an update and I need to check and see if they're satisfied with the house we chose. So I'll be back soon."

Michelle nodded and they watched while he and Donna left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

After drinking his tea, John wanted to lie back down and smiled when Michelle helped adjust his pillow and fluffed it up a bit for him.

"You're very helpful. How old are you?" he asked her.

"Ten."

"And how about your family? Mother, father…"

"An older sister named Brittany. She's fifteen. I have a younger sister named Mandy who's four and my brother Tom is five. I have a Daddy and Mommy and there was Rex, our doggie and the Doctor is our adopted Uncle, River is our aunt and Amy and Rory and Donna are brothers and sisters."

"I don't know Amy and Rory. I know Donna and River though," John said, snuggling under the blanket before Michelle sat back down.

"Amy and Rory traveled with the Doctor but they got in an accident with Weeping Angels and got sent back to 1930 New York and got stuck. They're dead now but they watch over us from Heaven. Donna had her memory wiped for a bit until the Doctor used the chameleon arch and made her Time Lady so she could remember and not die."

"Donna's a Time Lady now? Oh, there goes the universe," John said, shaking his head.

"I like Donna."

John smiled.

"I do too. I was just teasing," he said. "So she has two hearts now?"

Michelle nodded.

"So he's no longer the last."

"Well, Aunt River is part Time Lord too."

"She is?" John said in disbelief. "That was one of her secrets then?"

"I guess," Michelle said, shrugging.

"So much has happened since we left," John said, shaking his head. "In both universes."

"You're like Donna was, right?" Michelle said to him. "You're part Time Lord? Maybe the Doctor can make you all Time Lord with the chameleon arch."

John let out a ruthful laugh.

"Sorry, my little friend, but having one Doctor too many was part of the problem," he said. "That's why he took me over there and left me with Rose. I doubt he'd make me a full Time Lord and have competition over here now. Besides, if I became a full Time Lord, I would live on past Rose and I don't want to do that."

"Can he make you all human then?" Michelle said.'

"Perhaps but I don't want that either. I've come to terms with who I am and I'm happy being this way," John said. "There are advantages to being this way and I'd lose them if I became one or the other. Thanks for thinking of me though."

"I think Mommy would let you stay with us until you and Rose got better. We have a big house and she and Daddy are looking at one in…Mayfair. It's very nice. Uncle Doctor gave us this winning lottery ticket and made us rich so we want to leave Indiana. Sarah Jane and Jack are helping us too and Donna's family so we know people when we move here. Maybe you and Rose could stay with us and look for work and stuff and be a part of our family."

John thought about that.

"I don't know if you'd want us living with you, considering we got our other family killed," he finally said.

"We know the Doctor, isn't that just as dangerous?" Michelle said, shrugging. "He told us stories and I know he's got lots of enemies. So what's the difference if you come and live with us? Maybe you and Rose could help protect us and London."

"Well, in this condition, I don't think we could protect a mouse at the moment," John said, pointing to his gaunt body.

"You'll get better, we'll help," Michelle said.

John smiled, his heart warming at her childish enthusiasm and innocence. He missed having children around after Tony was killed. He and Rose had discussed having some but then the invasion happened and there were more important things to worry about. But the more he talked to Michelle, the more he liked her and he could see why his other self was so fond of her.

His head jerked up when he heard Rose groan and Michelle pulled the mobile out of her pocket while she walked over to her.

"Rose? It's me, John," John said while Rose struggled to wake up. "I'm here beside you so don't be afraid. We're safe."

"Doctor, Rose is waking up now," Michelle said, speaking into the mobile while she stood beside the examination table.

"John?" Rose said groggily while her eyes opened a crack.

"Yes, Rose, I'm safe and so are you. The Doctor found us and we're in the TARDIS med bay. You're being treated and you're on an exam table so stay still."

"Who was talking just now? Sounded like a child's voice?" Rose said, turning her head toward Michelle.

"Me. I'm Michelle, nice to meet you," Michelle said as she ended the call. "Doctor's coming now. I was just talking to John and we were waiting for you to wake up."

Rose finally managed to get her eyes open. She studied Michelle while she waved back.

"Hello," Rose said, finally managing a smile.

"Hi. Doctor's coming, so don't worry," Michelle said.

"He's regenerated, Rose. He looks a bit younger and a bit geeky."

"Well, you look like a geek as well so I wouldn't talk if I were you," Rose said, slowly turning her head towards him.

She turned her head back when the Doctor and Lori came into the room.

"Rose," the Doctor said, moving to her side.

"Wow, you do look geeky," Rose said.

Michelle giggled at the incensed look on the Doctor's face.

"Or hello, if you prefer," he said while Michelle giggled even more. "Nice to see you again, Doctor, thanks for saving our lives."

"Sorry," Rose said sheepishly. "Is this your companion then?" she said, looking at Lori.

"Yes and no, this is Michelle's mum," the Doctor said, pointing to Lori. "She's traveled with me but not full time and not to anything dangerous. I'm helping them look at houses and you and John showed up so we came back for you, brought you in here and we're trying to sort you both out. How are you feeling?"

"Like a lorry ran over me," Rose groaned.

"I don't doubt it, you look like a lorry ran over you," the Doctor said, scanning her with his sonic.

"Did you find a good house, Mum?" Michelle said, stepping back towards her so the Doctor could check on Rose.

"I think so. We found a large one and it's very nice. But we're going to look at one more before settling on it," Lori said, putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "Will they be okay?" she said to the Doctor.

"I think so, just needs to heal and put some weight back on," the Doctor said over his shoulder.

"Mommy, can we find a house where they could stay with us? They could get better there," Michelle said.

The Doctor's face brightened.

"There's a thought," he said, turning to them. "Pigs in a blanket and enchiladas galore and they'll put on weight in no time," he added while Michelle and Lori laughed. "Besides, this family will warm your heart. Believe me; I keep coming back for more."

"You've gone domestic?" Rose said with a smile.

The Doctor froze and pretended to be shocked by that while Lori and Michelle giggled.

"Hey, I have, haven't I?" he said. "I guess I said what the hell the moment I had Lori's enchiladas. Eh, why fight it?" he said with a shrug. "But yes, I now have a homebase and a family to go to whenever I need a bit of rest and fun. But the house we were looking at would have more than enough room and it's posh. Something you're used to now?"

"Actually, we moved out of the mansion when we were able to afford it," Rose said. "We didn't want Mum watching us every moment."

"Too right," John said.

"I think you're stable enough to move to the bed. TARDIS, could you move her next to John, please?"

There was a flash and Rose disappeared from the table along with her IV pole. Another flash and she was beside John under the blankets with her IV pole beside her.

"Your ship is very handy for moving things," Lori said.

"That she is and she could do it without causing anymore internal injuries which is why I asked her to do it. I want whatever harm to be healed without me causing further damage."

John smiled tenderly at his wife and caressed her cheek while she relaxed in the bed. The Doctor asked Michelle to stay with them again while he and Lori went back out to check on the house. Michelle pulled up a chair and waved goodbye to her mom and the Doctor as they headed back out of the room.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

John and Rose passed the time talking to Michelle and finding out more about her and her family. Michelle was happy to tell her about herself and their life in Indiana and did most of the talking while John and Rose rested and snuggled together.

Eventually, the Doctor, Donna and the rest of Michelle's family and Rex came back into the room. The children all came up to the bed while Lori stood by so she could control what they did. Jim came up beside the children and shook his head.

"The Doctor described what you looked like but mercy, you two really have been through hell," he said.

"Yes, to put it mildly," John said. "You're Michelle's dad then?"

"I'm Jim, yes. This is my wife, Lori, and these are our children. Michelle, you met. This is Brittany, Mandy and Tom and this is Rex," he said, pointing to each individual in turn.

"Nice to meet you," Rose said while John nodded in agreement.

"Are you going to get better now?" Mandy said, coming up to John's head.

"I hope so," John said to her.

"I have magna clamps that can cancel out the weight of any object," the Doctor said, coming up beside Jim. "We could use them to transport the bed out into the house so they can relax and be around the family."

"You mean the house in Mayfair?" John said.

"No, the one in Indiana that they currently reside in," the Doctor said. "We still have to do a few more things before moving to London but we're all knackered and they want to go home. Having said that, I'll set sail for Corntopia, otherwise known as Indy."

The Doctor left, leaving the others with John and Rose.

"So, you're a Time Lady now?" John said to Donna while everyone sat down in chairs that the TARDIS provided for them.

Donna chuckled.

"Yeah, it was the only way I could be saved. If I'd gone the other way, I would have died," Donna said. "Mum was a bit perplexed and the Doctor had to explain what he was doing and calm her fears but Granddad was thrilled. But in the end, I think they're just glad I've been restored. River travels with us on occasion but at the moment I'm the full time resident of the TARDIS. And they're wonderful," she said, pointing to the rest of the family. "They're fun to be around and they'll take very good care of you."

"The Doctor talked about you a little," Brittany said to them. "He told us about the Crucible and what happened and also talked about when you traveled with him full time," she said to Rose. "He told us about the werewolf."

"God, that was ages ago," Rose said, widening her eyes.

"We met Martha and Sarah Jane and Jack and we wanted to meet you too but the Doctor said you were stuck in the other universe. It's nice to meet you though," Brittany said to them.

"And you," John said.

They continued to chat until the Doctor landed and came back to the med bay carrying the magna clamps in his hands. Rose winced when she saw them, remembering the last time they used the magna clamps and how disastrous that had been. The Doctor asked the TARDIS to teleport everyone up to the console room and in a flash they were by the front door. Rose's eyes boggled and she raised her head when she saw the interior.

"Oh yeah, he changed the console room around apparently," John told his wife.

The Doctor put the magna clamps on the backs of the wooden head and footboards and turned them on. He then directed Jim to pick up the end of the bed while he got behind the headboard. Jim was shocked at how light it was.

"I told you, the magna clamps cancel out the weight of the object. I landed in the den so I was thinking we could put them by the sofa bed."

He asked the TARDIS to widen the front door and they carried the bed out while everyone else followed. John and Rose looked around while the Doctor and Jim put their bed down by the sofa bed. The Doctor took the magna clamps off and raised the head of the bed a bit so they could look around and watch TV. Jim and Lori told everyone they were going upstairs while the Doctor carried the magna clamps back into the TARDIS. He moved it back to the storage room while Lori asked John and Rose if they would like some soup. They nodded and Lori told the children to let them rest and be gentle with them before urging Rex upstairs with her and her husband. Donna set down on the sofa bed while the Doctor came out of the storage room, carrying the crystal that would allow them to see Amy and Rory. He turned it on and looked around and saw Amy and Rory sitting near the bed. Rose and John did double takes when they saw them and the Doctor chuckled as he walked over to them. He quickly explained what was going on and Amy and Rory waved hello to them. Once he finished explaining who they were and where they were, he cleared his throat.

"So…Ponds, are you responsible for them being here?" the Doctor said to Amy and Rory while he pointed to Rose and John.

"Why whatever do you mean?" Amy said, feigning innocence.

I find it peculiar that their void ship happened to land here where they could find me immediately when all they did was randomly aim the dimension cannon at Earth."

"Well, yeah...we might have given the void ship a friendly little nudge in this direction," Amy said.

"You saved us," Rose said.

"Yeah, well…you're one of us," Rory said. "You've traveled with him so…"

"You're a part of the Companion Club and entitled to free nudging when you need it," Amy said. "We would have done it sooner but we're limited to this universe and we had to wait until you were close enough to interfere. We wouldn't have let you starve otherwise."

"All the same, thank you," John said.

The children sat with Donna on the sofa bed while the Doctor rang Jack, Sarah Jane and Martha and let them know what was going on. By the time he was finished with his calls, Lori and Jim were coming back down carrying trays filled with chicken soup and some milk.

"Jim, Lori, Jack wants me to come and get him so he can see Rose, is that alright?"

"Sure, go ahead," Jim said while Lori nodded.

"Won't take a tic," the Doctor said, hurrying to the storage room.

"Hey, guys," Lori said, smiling at Amy and Rory while she and Jim unfolded some legs beneath the trays and put them over Rose and John's laps so they could eat.

"Mom, they saved them," Brittany said. "They're the ones that guided that void ship here?"

"Yup, that's us," Amy said.

"Thank you for doing that," Lori said.

"Anytime," Rory replied.

"Do you need anything else?" Lori asked Rose and John.

"No, I think we're fine. Thank you," John said while Rose nodded.

"Let the children know if you need anything so they can let us know," Lori said, putting her hand on Rose's shoulder. "Just relax, you're safe now."

"Thank you," Rose said.

Lori smiled and nodded and she and Jim went back upstairs. A few minutes later, they heard the TARDIS while both Rose and John slowly ate their dinner. Michelle ran over to the storage room door and Rose got tears in her eyes when the door opened and she heard Jack laugh as he picked Michelle up in his hands.

"Hey, you!" he said, carrying her out of the room while the Doctor followed. "Nice to see you again," he said, sitting her down. "Everyone. Amy, Rory, nice to see everyone. Especially…"

He smiled warmly while Rose set her spoon down in her soup bowl and held out her arm to embrace Jack.

"Jesus, Rose, you look terrible. You both do," Jack said after giving her a hug. "I'm glad they found you."

"They found us," John said, pointing to Amy and Rory.

"You led them here?" Jack said to Amy and Rory.

"We nudged them here, yeah," Amy said.

"My thanks to you then," Jack said, bowing to them. "They're a wonderful family. You'll be well taken care of here," he said, turning back to them.

"I can see that already," Rose said.

John looked at Mandy when she came to his side.

"Is your soup good?" she asked.

"Yes, it's very good and very hot. I haven't had hot food in awhile," he said to her.

"You let me know if you want something cause I wanna help," Mandy said.

John beamed at that and patted her head.

"I will," he said.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

After eating their meal, Rose and John rested and relaxed and watched the others. Lori had fixed enchiladas for everyone else and the Doctor let them both have a small taste. Rose licked her lips and wished she could have more but she knew that after going without food for so long, she couldn't eat something heavy like that without it making her ill. Eventually, Jim and Lori came back downstairs with Rex, carrying a couple of folding chairs so they could spend time with their new friends. When everyone was finished eating, the Doctor asked them to tell him what happened and who these so-called friendly aliens were. John and Rose glanced at each other before John started to speak.

"The aliens weren't any that we encountered before. They referred to themselves as The Brotherhood, although I'm sure that was just a phony name. They were tall, thin, pale and bald with big dark eyes and a thin slit for a mouth and two slits for noses. They all wore blue robes and had long, slender fingers. Anyway, it started nearly a year ago when they made their first contact with Earth…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

"Well," John said while everyone gathered around to listen, "it's a good thing you did tell the story about the Crucible so we don't have to start with that. After the Doctor left us behind, we managed to get back to civilization. Pete helped me adjust, got me the necessary documentation that humans need to function in daily life and they got me a job as scientific advisor at Torchwood, working alongside Rose. Rose and I adjusted to our situation, worked out our differences and eventually she fell in love with me and not just the ghost of the Doctor. We married about a year and a half ago and we've been happily married since. So, that's our back-story so now I'll take you up to where we were when the Brotherhood first arrived…

(One year ago on Pete's World…)

John rubbed the bridge of his nose while he took a break from reading the paperwork he had been given. He was sitting at his desk in his office next door to his wife. His office wasn't huge or fancy, just a basic office with the usual office stuff but it suited his purposes since most of the time he was working on a project or out on an assignment with Rose.

He was reading a field report about a supposed big cat that had been sighted in Devon. Eyewitnesses claimed it was a panther, even though panthers weren't native to England. The panther was supposedly huge, much bigger than an average panther and supposedly at times it could walk on its hind legs like a human. This report was the first set in determining whether a sighting was worth Torchwood's time. They had field agents all over the UK and some abroad, reporting on paranormal and alien sightings and these sightings were typed up in a report, copied and sent to the supervisors who then made the call as to whether or not to follow up and who would be sent to investigate it. Because of Pete, Rose was one of the top field agents at Torchwood and because he was married to her, they worked as a team so he was sent the same reports as her.

He looked up when he heard a knock on his door and smiled at Rose as she came into the room. She was dressed in a grey skirt, white blouse and matching grey jacket and he had to admit she looked sexy. This was her outfit in the office, on assignment it was usually jeans and a t-shirt and jacket. Rose held up her copy of the report while she walked towards his oak desk.

"Seriously? Phantom panther?" she said, sitting down in a leather chair in front of his desk.

"I don't know, might be interesting. We could go see the Devon countryside," John said.

"Yeah so you can shag on it," Rose teased.

"Ah, Rose, you know me so well," he said while she laughed. "So…no to the phantom panther then?"

"Let someone else handle it," Rose said. "Let Jenkins handle it."

"The arsehole you hate more than life itself?" John said.

"Yup," Rose said. "Let him go on a panther hunt. Might be fun for him."

"Well, what's next then?" John said, setting the report aside and picking up the next one. "Strange lights just outside London and other cities? Reports of UFOs and SETI has picked up a strange message from the stars. Worth looking into?"

"What does the message say?" Rose said while John quickly skimmed through the report.

John muttered to himself for a moment.

"It's a mathematical code but I can translate, give me a moment," he said, glancing at his wife. "Well, it's someone called The Brotherhood apparently and they wish to visit Earth. They say they come in peace," he said, putting the report down.

"And you don't believe that?" Rose said.

"Dunno. A lot of aliens claim to come in peace. Some do, some don't. Perhaps this one is worth looking into."

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"That was the beginning of it," John said, looking around at the Doctor and his family. "We contacted SETI and I told them what the translation said and offered my expertise on the matter and me and Rose's assistance if they wanted to arrange a meeting. I knew how to send a message back to this Brotherhood and I told them that. So we were flown out to Mountain View, California to meet with the scientists there…

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

"John Smith and Rose Tyler?"

A middle aged man with salt and pepper hair and wire rimmed glasses and a young blonde woman with a pixie haircut and a cherubic face came out to greet Rose and John when their helicopter landed outside SETI headquarters. Both of them were dressed casually in jeans, t-shirts and trainers. The man was holding a metal clipboard with some papers clipped to it. They shook John and Rose's hands.

"I am Bill Bryson and this is Nancy Love," he said to them. "We're sorta the head researchers here, although there really is no hierarchy to speak of. But we were picked to be your liaisons here. You're with Torchwood?"

"We are," Rose said.

"We've worked with them in the past concerning alien transmissions. We sent you all the information we had at the time but there was one more transmission that was received this morning. If you'll follow me, we'll let you take a listen to it."

John and Rose followed him into a large rectangular concrete building. He led them through it until they came to a wooden door near the back that had Bill's name affixed to the door as a small brass plaque.

"My office," he said to them as he opened it. "Sorry about the mess."

Unlike John and Rose's office which was fairly neat and tidy, Bill's office was cluttered with papers all over his desk along with little plushies of aliens and various knickknacks. On the wall was an X-Files I Want To Believe poster and another poster of Mulder and Scully.

"Big fan of the show," Bill said when he noticed John and Rose staring at the posters.

He sat down at his desk, unlocked the bottom drawer and took out his laptop. He opened it up and waited for it to load up while he motioned for Nancy, Rose and John to sit in front of the desk. Unlike John and Rose's office where they had expensive leather chairs, Bill had only wooden chairs you might find at the dinner table. Bill found the file on his laptop and clicked on it. He turned his laptop around and they listened to a lot of high-pitched gibberish.

"This is different from the equations we've been getting, this one we have no clue about," Bill said to them.

"That's because it's their language, not a code," John said.

"How do you know that?" Bill said.

"I'm very good, that's why they pay me the big bucks…or pounds, if you prefer," John said smugly while Rose stifled her laughter. "They're saying they wish to meet with you and by you, I mean SETI. They're very insistent. I don't know why they're using their own language to send this message but perhaps it's a test. If you can decode it and send one in return, they'll come. And they are asking you send a return message."

"So they're trying to see if we're intelligent enough for them?" Nancy said.

"Perhaps," John said shrugging. "Perhaps they have information and they want to see if you're ready to handle it. Do you want me to ask them to come because I can speak to them in their own language and tell them you want a meeting with them."

"We do and we would love to send you a return message," Bill said.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"That was our first mistake," John said to everyone. "Mine and SETI's. I should have said no but I was just as curious as they were to meet these aliens."

"So they came down and took over?" Brittany asked.

"Not at first, no. They came down and acted all friendly and it was all, "Oh, we come in peace and we mean you no harm and we'd love to share our technology with you!"

"Like V?" Brittany said.

"I'm sorry?" John said, frowning.

"Like V, the TV show," Brittany said.

"Oh! Sorry. Yes, it was like that. It was all we are of peace always but behind the scenes, they were planning to subjugate the Earth, starting with the government leaders and people they felt were a threat, which meant…" he pointed to himself and Rose. "Especially me since I'm the one that spoke their language so I could potentially uncover any plot. So when they came to SETI, they were especially insistent that they meet me…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

(One day later…)

Bill and Nancy met Rose and John at the entrance again but when they came inside, they saw twenty other people of varying ages grouped together, staring at him with awe.

"Welcome party?" John said, pointing to the gawkers.

"I told them you translated the message and sent one back in their own language. I believe it's your fan club now," Bill said.

"Oh, well…glad to know I have one," John said, winking at his wife.

"You have two actually, I'm the other one and I'm the only member," Rose whispered to him while Bill and Nancy led them past the gawkers. He led them to the break room. Inside were vending machines and a magazine rack against the wall and several tables and chairs. There were several framed posters of stars and galaxies on the walls and a dingy linoleum floor.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"At the back were several members of The Brotherhood," John said to everyone. "They were as I described them earlier and they were just standing there, looking at us. Then they spoke and…Rose, how would you describe it?"

"It was like a male voice with a hint of female mixed in," Rose said after a moment's thought. "Like a man impersonating a female, I think. I thought their voices were odd and unsettling. Turns out though, the voices were the least unsettling thing about them."

"Did you kick their butts?" Mandy asked.

Rose giggled when John looked at her.

"You mean, did I kick their butts just then?" he said to her.

"Yup," Mandy said.

"Um…no, but I should have," John said while Rose laughed. "I should have kicked their butts back into their spaceships but they weren't being a threat just then. They were being nice people and not mean."

"I would have kicked their butts," Mandy said.

Everyone laughed while John gave her a long, hard stare before patting her on the head.

"So anyway," John teased while everyone laughed.

He smiled and patted the bed beside him and Mandy sat down on the side of the bed.

"Only teasing, love," he said fondly as he patted her head again. "I wish you would have been there to kick their butts, it would have saved the world a lot of trouble."

He paused for a moment, looking at Mandy and Tom.

"Actually, perhaps I should continue this story after the little ones are in bed," John said. "What I have to describe would give them nightmares."

"I wanna hear it," Michelle said.

"Me too," Mandy said.

"Not you," Lori said to Mandy. "I don't want you having nightmares. You can hear a tamer story than this. You…" she looked at Michelle.

"Please! I can handle it!" Michelle begged.

"What do you think?" Lori asked Jim.

"Please, Daddy, I wanna hear it!" Michelle said.

"If we let you do this, we don't wanna hear you complain if it gives you nightmares, alright?" Jim said.

"Yes, I promise I won't complain," Michelle said.

"Alright, you and Brit can hear it. You and Tom are too young," Lori said to Mandy.

"Noooo," Mandy said. "It's not fair!"

"How about if I tell you a story then?" the Doctor said to Mandy.

"Mandy studied him for a moment.

"What kind of story?" she finally said.

"The kind that will not give you horrific nightmares and have you running and screaming in terror while your mother boots me out the front door of the house. How about it?"

Tom walked up beside Mandy.

"I wanna hear," Tom said.

"Okay," the Doctor said, sitting down while Mandy and Tom gathered around him. "Well, one time me and Rose…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rose opened the TARDIS door and stepped outside into a magical land filled with rainbows, sunshine and bunnies, bunnies, bunnies. The Tenth Doctor came out and shut the door.

"This is Rainbow World where everything is bright and sunny with absolutely no trauma or scary things whatsoever," the Tenth Doctor said.

"Ooo, look, Doctor, it's raining rainbows!" Rose said, pointing to teeny tiny rainbows falling all around her.

"Yes! And the bunnies are hopping," Ten said, pointing to the hopping bunnies all around them. "Let's hop with them!"

"Yes, let's!" Rose said, taking his hand.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"And so we went hippity hop, hippity hop across Rainbow World," Eleven said.

He paused and giggled at the dubious looks on Mandy and Tom's faces.

"We did! Didn't we, Rose?" Eleven said, looking at her.

"Oh yeah, we just hopped all day on that planet," Rose said while John snickered.

"You're full of shit," Mandy said to the Doctor.

"Mandy!" Lori said, trying not to laugh with everyone else. "Mandy, that is a naughty word. You don't say that, alright?"

"Sorry," Mandy said to the Doctor.

"I hope so," the Doctor said, trying to look stern and failing miserably. "That is not a polite thing to say, especially not to me. I just took some time out of my busy schedule to tell you about Rainbow World and you say a naughty thing back to me? The very nerve!"

"So Doctor, how come you never took Rory and me to Rainbow World?" Amy said.

"Because…I already went there with Rose so there's no point in going back, is there?"

"You mean like when you kept going back to Satellite Five?" Jack said.

"The second time I went it was called the Gamestation so it wasn't the same," the Doctor said.

"He's just trying to divert our attention from his weak, boring story," Donna said to them. "Not even a four and a five year old liked it."

"Did you like it?" the Doctor said to Tom.

Tom shook his head and grinned.

"Well, I was asked by your mum not to mention blood and guts and disturbing things in my story so I didn't. Blame her then," he said, nodding his head at Lori.

"And blame me for this too, let's go get your bath, kids, and let Rose and John rest for awhile," Lori said, standing up.

The children groaned.

"Upstairs. Let them rest and heal up," Lori said. "You can talk to them later."

"Come on, kids," Jim said. "Rex, come on!"

They watched while the children and Rex followed Jim and Lori up the stairs.

"Well, I need to get a couple more bags of saline and ready some more syringes," the Doctor said, standing up. "Donna, Jack, come and help me, will you?"

He looked at Amy and Rory. Amy smirked.

"You can't order us about, Raggedy Man, we're beyond your reach," she teased.

"Then…float quietly," the Doctor said while the Ponds giggled. "Donna, Jack, with me."

"See ya later, Blondie! See ya, John," Jack said, waving while he and Donna followed the Doctor. "And I need to go to Rainbow World someday, it sounds fabulous."

"Oh, it was just incredible," Rose said while everyone laughed. "It was the highlight of my travels with the Doctor, especially hopping with the bunnies."

Jack grinned and winked at her before going into the unfinished room. John watched they go into the storage room before looking at Amy and Rory.

"We'll float quietly here, promise," Amy said.

"I was just thinking it was a shame you didn't get to Rainbow World," John said to them.

"I know, what a bloody shame," Rory said. "We would have loved hopping with the bunnies. Although…I suppose we could do that here," he said, looking around Heaven.

"So…how about we do that and let them rest," Amy said to her husband.

"Okay, we'll go find our own Rainbow World around here and be back later. Have a nice rest."

"And it was nice meeting you both," Amy said.

"And you," John said while Rose nodded in agreement.

They watched while Amy and Rory vanished into thin air. John looked at the crystal and noticed it was still turned on. He shrugged and sighed as he put his arm around his wife, cuddled with her and fell asleep a few minutes before she did.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

By the time Rose and John were asleep, the Doctor had returned to the room with fresh IV bags and more of his healing liquid in syringes. He noticed Amy and Rory weren't in the room and he looked around for a moment before shrugging and quietly moving to the bed. He checked the bags which were now nearly empty. He used a small clamp to stop the flow before changing the bag on John's side. Once the bag was in place, he undid the clamp and put more liquid into his tubing. Then he lay the bag on the sofa bed and walked around to Rose's side. While he was changing her bag, she stirred and woke up. The Doctor froze for a moment before quietly apologizing for waking her.

"You didn't, I was just resting my eyes," she said softly.

"I'm switching your IV bags and giving you a bit more medicine," the Doctor said softly. "How are you feeling?"

"Better, much better."

"Good."

Rose watched while he clamped the bag and changed it.

"Are you mad at me?" Rose finally said softly.

The Doctor froze, bewilderment on his face.

"No," he said. "What makes you think I'd be mad at you?"

"Because of the way you left me and John on the beach. You didn't say goodbye, you just walked away. I wondered if kissing John made you angry."

The Doctor shook his head.

"I was hoping that would happen which is why I didn't answer your question in the way you'd hoped," he said softly.

"So why'd you walk away then?" Rose said.

"Because, Rose, I had to make myself do that before I took you back," the Doctor said. "Although…I think I made a grave error in judgment and perhaps I shouldn't have left you or John there, given what happened afterwards."

"No, you can't blame yourself for this," Rose said, holding up her emaciated arm. "I won't let you."

The Doctor chuckled as he inserted the syringe needle into the tubing.

"I don't see how you could stop me feeling guilty, Rose," he said fondly.

"Rose is right," John said, opening his eyes. "You did what you thought was best. You had no idea this would happen to us so don't blame yourself."

The Doctor smiled and nodded but Rose figured he would blame himself anyway and not tell anyone. She was about to say something else when Mandy and Lori came downstairs. Mandy was carrying her panda bear and two pieces of paper in her hand.

"Oh good, they're awake," Lori said, glancing at Rose and John. "Mandy wanted to give you a couple of things," she said to them while they crossed the room.

Mandy walked over to John and handed him a piece of paper. John looked at it while Mandy went around the bed. The Doctor glanced at it and grinned.

"Oh, so you've been adopted as well, eh?" he said while Mandy handed Rose the other piece of paper.

"Adopted?" John said, looking at him.

"When they found out I lost my home, they adopted me and Amy and Rory and River as part of their family and gave us their last name, Stevens. They did that for my other self and Donna and now Jack, Martha and Sarah Jane. Now you're joining the list."

"And you can have my panda to snuggle with," Mandy said, handing it to Rose. "The Doctor gave it to me."

"My TARDIS did but I gave up explaining that since she keeps saying I gave it to her," the Doctor said.

Rose smiled as she stared at the slightly scuffed panda.

"You love this panda, don't you?" she said. "It's a bit dirty and I can see it's been loved."

"Yes, but you need it right now to get better," Mandy said.

"Thank you for both things," Rose said.

"Thank you for adopting us," John said to her.

"So what are they then?" the Doctor said, leaning down to her. "Are they aunt and uncle like me and River are?"

"I think so," Mandy said.

"You think so? Well, aren't you sure?" the Doctor said while Lori chuckled.

"I think so," Mandy repeated in annoyance.

"Okay then," the Doctor said feigning annoyance. "I will continue my work then, Poopy Face!"

Lori chuckled.

"We're going to take her and Tom out tonight since they can't hear John and Rose's story. Make it up to them for being left out and…that way they can't sneak down here and hear things they shouldn't be hearing."

"Good idea," the Doctor said.

"So…you guys will be in charge of the older ones and…Mandy, quit that, he's trying to work," Lori said when Mandy kept tugging on the Doctor's trouser leg.

"Yes? Is there something you need, Poopy Face?" the Doctor said, bending down.

"You mind your Ps and Qs or there's gonna be trouble!" Mandy said, pointing at his face.

Rose giggled at the shocked look on the Doctor's face.

"Excuse me, are you threatening me?" he said, pointing to himself.

"Mind your Ps and Qs, that's what I'm saying," Mandy said, putting her hands on her hips.

The Doctor leaned back up and imitated her hands on hips stance while Rose and Lori giggled and John smiled.

"I am minding my Ps and Qs, thank you very much," the Doctor said to her. "I don't need you to lecture me on good behavior!"

"Actually, she does."

"Button it, Rose," the Doctor said to her while Rose giggled.

"You behave!" Mandy said, poking the Doctor's leg.

"No!" the Doctor said, gathering up the IV bags and empty syringes.

"Yes! Mind your Ps and Qs now!" Mandy said.

The other adults laughed while the Doctor ran to the storage room with Mandy in close pursuit.

"MIND YOUR Ps AND Qs!" Mandy shrieked.

"No! Leave me alone, you small, annoying thing!" the Doctor hollered as he ran into the unfinished room and flung open the storage room door.

"Hey! Welcome to our wacky, nutty family. You might want to rethink your adoption into it after awhile, " Lori said while Rose and John laughed.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

After Lori went back upstairs, Rose and John rested again. Rose held the panda in the crook of her arm while she examined her adoption certificate.

"So we found ourselves a brand new family then," John said to her.

"Yeah," Rose said softly.

John studied his wife for a moment.

"You don't want to be a part of this family then?" he asked, taking her hand.

"I do it's just…"

"You're afraid of losing them as well?" John said when Rose trailed off.

Rose bit her lip and nodded as her eyes misted over. John stroked her cheek and put his arm around her.

"I think this will be different," he said, snuggling up to her.

"You do?" Rose said.

"Yes, because now we have allies here who would help protect them and the Earth. We really didn't have that in the other universe," John said. "We didn't have Jack or Sarah or Donna or Martha. All we had really was Pete and he's only one man. Not to mention he never traveled with the Doctor so he wasn't trained to fight that sort of alien threat. I admired him, I really did but he wasn't cut out for Torchwood. He was a salesman who got caught up in the whole Cyberman fiasco and worked for Torchwood when all he should have been doing was selling pop. I mean, we outlasted him in the camps. I hate to say it but he was in the wrong profession."

Rose nodded.

"So were we," she said. "We never should have been there, John. We weren't meant to work at Torchwood either."

"I wholeheartedly agree with that," John said. "I just wish I would have realized that sooner and had the guts to walk away before dooming the Earth to extinction. The Doctor isn't the only one with guilt."

"And I'm telling you that you needn't feel guilty either. You thought you were helping," Rose said. "If the two of you insist on feeling guilty, I'm going to do so as well. Nothing will be solved by you two being guiltridden. What's done is done and we can't go back, we can only go forward."

"God, Rose, you do sound like me and him, more and more each day," John said.

"Good. It means I'm listening and learning from the best," Rose said. "And the fact that I survived that hell back there means I did learn."

John nodded and squeezed her hand. They looked over when Lori came down the stairs with Tom.

"Sorry about this, Tom wants to say something to Rose," Lori said. "I'm sorry if we're bothering you."

"No bother, I don't know about Rose but I'm a bit bored just lying here," John said.

He watched while Tom walked over to Rose's side while Lori stopped at the end of the bed and watched.

"I wanted to ask you something," Tom said to Rose.

"Yeah?" Rose said, smiling.

"You had a brother?" Tom said.

"Yeah, I had a little brother called Tony. He was about your age, actually," Rose said, putting her hand on his head.

"Did he die?" Tony said.

Rose swallowed hard and nodded while John squeezed her shoulder.

"I want to be your little brother then."

Rose stared at Tom while John rubbed her shoulder. He could see she was choked up from hearing that and Tom backed away from her.

"I just wanted to know, I'm sorry. I'll leave," Tom said.

"No!" Rose said, holding out her hand. "Love, I'm sorry. It's just that hearing you ask that made me…choke up and I couldn't answer you at first. I would love that," she said, taking his hand.

"I don't want to be like Tony but I'll be your brother," Tom said while Lori smiled while tears came to her eyes.

"Thank you," Rose said before leaning over to hug him.

"That's all I wanted to say," Tom said. "I'll leave you alone now."

"Thank you, love," Rose said, wiping a tear away from her cheek.

"Get better, Sissy," Tom said as he walked over to his mother.

Lori smiled at Rose as she took Tom's hand. John snuggled with his wife while they watched them going back upstairs.

"So…you're getting deeper and deeper into this adoption business then?" John said, amused. "He didn't ask me but maybe it's because I'm your husband. This is your side of the family then, eh?" he teased. "All this time, you had family in Indiana and didn't tell me?"

Rose chuckled and took his hand.

"I suppose I didn't talk about them much," Rose teased. "We weren't that close, them being in Indiana and all."

"I can see why the Doctor loves them so though," John said. "They're a sweet little family."

"Listen to you, now you're going domestic," Rose said with a grin as she poked his side.

"Well, I started doing that when I went to live with your family," John said. "Not to mention I was forced to live a life as a human so now I'm used to all that. After witnessing all the terror and brutality and living in that camp, I could do with a bit of family togetherness."

"Me too," Rose said.

Just then the storage room door was flung open.

"Ps and Qs!" Mandy said as she followed the Doctor out of the room.

Rose laughed at the exasperation on the Doctor's face as he came out of the unfinished room and walked towards the bed. Mandy walked behind him, a grin on her little face.

"Ponds!" the Doctor yelled when he reached the bed.

Amy and Rory appeared beside the bed.

"What?" Amy said, feigning annoyance. "We were frolicking in Rainbow World and hopping like bunnies just now!"

"Is there a way you can take this small thing and deposit her over there? I mean, Rory, this is your girlfriend."

"Sorry, no nonspirits allowed over here," Amy said with a shrug. "Unless you want to strangle her and make her dead."

"Believe me, I'm considering it!" the Doctor said, raising an eyebrow and looking back at Mandy.

"Ps and Qs!" Mandy said, pointing at his head.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Amy said. "I remember when I could order the Doctor about and get away with it."

The Doctor reached down, picked Mandy up and stared at her.

"You see this?" he said, nodding his chin towards the floor. "See how far you are off the floor? See how tall I am?"

"Ps and Qs!" Mandy said, pressing on his nose.

"Yeah, Ps and Qs," Rose said.

"Yeah, Ps and Qs," Amy said.

They laughed when the Doctor rolled his eyes.

"I see I shall have to establish my dominance once more," he said, carrying Mandy over to the sofa.

He lay her down and Mandy squealed when he began to tickle her.

"Ps and Qs, eh? I'll P and Q you, my dear!" the Doctor said, tickling her armpits while Mandy squealed with delight. "This is what comes of ordering Time Lords about like a little queen!"

He stopped tickling her and walked away, whistling, while Mandy lay on the sofa and sucked air into her lungs.

"Dominance has been reestablished!" the Doctor said smugly to his friends.

They laughed when he bolted away the moment Mandy let out a shriek, leapt off the sofa and gave chase. They laughed harder when the Doctor zoomed up the stairs while Mandy chased him.

"At least we won't have a dull moment here," John said to Rose while they heard Mandy shriek out, "Ps and Qs!" upstairs.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

After the Doctor came back downstairs, he walked over to Rose and John.

"Get rid of the pest?" John said.

"Yes, the mother finally got ahold of Miss Ps and Qs and gave her a distraction. However, she asked me to ask you a question and I have a question of my own."

"And the questions are…" Rose said.

"First, Lori's question. She's fixing supper for everyone since they'll be gone tonight. She's going to bake some chicken and some potatoes and wanted to know if you think you'd feel up to eating some so she knows how much to make."

"Oh God, that sounds good," Rose groaned. "I would risk being sick just to have some of it. I wanna risk it, please."

"And so do I," John said. "After that slop they fed us in the camps…chicken and potatoes sound too tempting to be ignored. I will also risk vomiting for that."

"Okay, I'll tell her. Now my question. Back there in that room is a toilet. Now, I don't know how strong you are or whether you could walk to it. If not, I have a portable toilet chair we could sit by the bed."

"What'd ya think?" John asked his wife.

Rose thought for a moment before she slid back the blanket. The Doctor came near while she slowly put her legs over the side of the bed. He started to assist her when Rose held up her hand.

"Not yet, let me see if I can stand on my own first," she said.

The Doctor nodded but stayed at her side, watching while Rose tested her feet. She stood up but instantly wobbled and the Doctor steadied her while she let out a curse and sat back down.

"Bollocks!" Rose said, letting out a frustrated sigh.

"It's alright, Rose. After all we've been through, it's gonna take time," John said.

Rose nodded.

"I think we need the toilet chair," Rose said.

"Okay. And would you like to change into a nightdress and jimjams? I could get you some and bring them out with the chair."

Rose and John thanked him and the Doctor helped Rose back into bed and covered her up before heading for his TARDIS. He came back ten minutes later with Jack and Donna. He carried the toilet chair, Donna carried the clothes and a couple of rolls of toilet paper on top of a wooden chair and Jack carried a black lacquer folding screen. Rose and John watched while Jack set up the folding screen a few feet from the bed and Donna put the chair and clothes behind it while the Doctor set the toilet chair by Rose's side of the bed.

"Folding screen is for privacy and the chair is so you can sit while you change," the Doctor said while Donna brought him the toilet paper. "Donna will help you get changed when you're ready but do you need to use the toilet first?"

Rose nodded and the Doctor helped her sit on the side of the bed and steadied her as she stood. Donna took the toilet paper and opened the lid while Rose pulled up her hospital gown and pulled down her underwear. The Doctor helped put her gently on the toilet and Donna put one of the rolls on the bed beside her. She used it while Jack looked away and the Doctor walked over to John's side.

"While we wait, let me have a dekko at your eye, mate," the Doctor said.

John sat still while the Doctor leaned in close and gently pulled down his lower lid a bit.

"Any idea what they used on you?" he said to John.

"No," John said.

"Bastards," the Doctor said.

"Yeah, my sentiments exactly," John said.

"Well..I could try nanomites. That would work no matter what they used on you," the Doctor mused while he leaned back up. "That would be the fastest cure as well…Are you done?" he asked, looking at Rose.

Rose nodded and the Doctor asked Donna to help her walk behind the screen. Donna helped her stand up and waited while she pulled up her pants before slowly walking with her to the screen.

"Do you want to get changed as well?" the Doctor asked John.

"Yeah," John said.

"Well, you have a choice of helpers, me or Jack."

"You! Not Jack!" John said, pointing to the Doctor.

"What?" Jack said while the Doctor bent over laughing. "I would be professional about it, sheesh!"

"Your reputation precedes you, sorry," the Doctor said, patting his shoulder. "Could you go tell Lori that they want to try to eat though so she can finish cooking."

"Sure thing," Jack said before turning and heading upstairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

After getting Rose and John comfortable and making sure their needs were taken care of, the Doctor and Donna went back to the TARDIS med bay so he could prepare an injection of nanomites for John.

"This should work," he said, putting an empty syringe in a small metal box while Donna stood beside him and watched. "Nanomites will fix anything, regardless of what those bastards used on his eye."

"What about Rose?" Donna said.

"Dunno. I don't think her injuries are severe enough for nanomites…"

"No, I mean do you still care for her?" Donna said.

"I'll always care for her," the Doctor said, glancing at her.

"You love her still?"

"Yes. But she's with John and I'm with River and I won't muck with either relationship. I gave her to John and I'm not gonna be a bastard and demand her back. Not after all they've been through."

"I didn't think you would, I just wondered if you still loved her as much as you did."

"I do and I always will," the Doctor said.

Donna nodded. The box buzzed and the Doctor opened it and took out the syringe. The syringe was now filled with a grayish liquid.

"Inside this solution are the nanomites," the Doctor said to her. "I'm going to inject it into his IV tube and the nanomites will fix any problem he has with his body. And even though you didn't ask it, I will check Rose as well and if she needs the nanomites, I will prepare another syringe."

"Are you going to listen to the story tonight?" Donna asked him.

"Yes, I'm going to make myself listen because I still hold myself responsible for what happened to them, even if Rose doesn't like it. I want to know what happened to them and the extent of their injuries."

"Why so you can beat yourself up over and over again and think what you would have done if you'd been there?" Donna said angrily. "You did what you thought was best!"

"Yes, John said that but what if it wasn't the best thing I could have done?" the Doctor said angrily. "I dumped them out when I was angry and left them there. I wasn't thinking clearly and to be honest, I hated John for existing because I felt I had competition, not to mention his genocide was unsettling to me because I was thinking of doing the exact same thing and have thought about doing it thousands of times. I acted in anger, irrational anger, and because I didn't stop and think first, they suffered for it. So yes, Donna, it is my fault!"

"Okay, it's your fault then. So what now?" Donna said angrily. "Are you going to go find this Brotherhood and take your rage out on them and destroy them in revenge?"

"Oh, believe me, nothing would give me more pleasure," the Doctor said. "But I doubt if we can. They took another big risk coming over the void and I don't want to take that same risk. That universe isn't under my protection like this one is. I would love to be able to protect every universe but I'm only one man and protecting this Earth is taxing enough. Every universe is slightly different and in that one, the Earth is conquered and enslaved. The Time Lords had the technology to travel back and forth over the void safely but I don't. So unless something monumental happens, I have to turn my face away from Pete's World and leave it to its fate and worry about John and Rose and helping them get back on their feet again. I have to do this and leave them like I left Pompeii to its fate. I know you hated it when I did that but I told you before, that's the burden of a Time Lord and now you're one so you should understand that better."

Donna nodded and the Doctor patted her on the shoulder. He smiled fondly at her before he took the syringe and they walked out of the med bay.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

"Now you guys behave while we're gone," Jim said to Michelle and Brittany. "Listen to the adults and mind them."

"We will," Michelle and Brittany said in unison.

"We won't be gone long, probably a few hours," Lori said to everyone as they stood around Rose and John. "The food is ready upstairs and we made enough for everyone and made extra helpings so help yourself."

"And you behave too," Jim said, patting Rex on the head.

Tom walked over to Rose and hugged her tightly.

"Get well, Sissy," he said to her.

"I will. You have fun tonight," Rose said, rubbing his back while she hugged him.

He let go and walked around to the other side of the bed while Mandy walked up to her.

"Mind your Ps and Qs," she said sternly to her.

"Oh, will you stop that?" the Doctor said while everyone laughed. "You and your P and Q thing now. Before it was the whole break it down now song and now you're stuck on this."

Rose chuckled and hugged Mandy. She kissed her cheek and walked around to John and did the same for him. Once they were done with that, they walked back to their parents and everyone said goodbye to them while they waved and followed their parents upstairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Oooh, this is gorgeous!" Rose moaned as she and John sat in bed and ate their meal. "The chicken is so tender and the potatoes are cooked just right. She is a wonderful cook."

"Yes, she is," the Doctor said while he and everyone else sat in chairs and on the sofa bed and ate.

"That enchilada thing you let me taste last night was also good," Rose said. "I wish I could have had more of that. But this is just as good. God, I want thirds and fourths and fifths on this. You had no idea the kind of slop they fed us. I wouldn't feed it to a dog," she said, glancing at Rex who was sitting by the bed watching her eat.

"Mommy is a very good cook," Michelle said as she sat with her sister and Donna on the bed.

"I'll have to tell her so when she gets back," Rose said. "If we're living with you lot for awhile, I will defiantly enjoy the food."

The Doctor looked at Amy and Rory who were now leaning back against a large tree. Or at least he assumed it was a large tree since all he could see was a wall of bark behind them. They were watching and holding hands and looked peaceful and content but the Doctor couldn't resist taking the mickey again.

"Too bad Boo and Boo the Husband can't eat with us," the Doctor said, skewering a chunk of potato on his fork and holding it up to them.

"Boo? We're not ghosts, dearest," Amy said. "Ghosts would be like that enraged Red Indian you had living in here. We are spirits and…we can do whatever we like here. We could have filet mignon a thousand times over and not get full from it. So take your smugness somewhere else, Raggedy Man."

"Mmmm," the Doctor said loudly while everyone else giggled. "Deeee-licious. Just like Rose said, so tender and juicy and it melts in your mouth."

Rory and Amy glanced at each other. Rory held up his hands and a gigantic lobster tail appeared in it that was as big as his body.

"We can make food that would make your chicken look puny and ill," Rory said while Amy nodded in agreement. "We could have a wall of chocolate and devour it and not vomit once. We are quite content to watch you feed yourselves, thanks."

The lobster tail disappeared and he put his hands back down at his side.

"You know, my love, I think the Doctor is trying to get us to come back to the Earth plane," Amy said to him.

"I think he is as well and if I hadn't crossed over, I would oblige him and haunt him wherever he went. But I crossed over and I can't come back, at least not as Rory, so I'll sit here and watch him make a fool of himself."

"What'd ya mean, not as Rory? You mean like reincarnation?" Donna said.

"Oh yes," Rory said. "There is such a thing. Of course, most people wait a century or two between lifetimes so they can have a rest and recover."

"We've had some interesting past lives," Amy said, gesturing to Rory. "We were in five past lives together which is why we were so close in this one. Probably be together in a few more eventually."

"But until then, I can't leave this plane of existence and go haunt you," Rory said to the Doctor. "Actually, I could leave temporarily to inhabit a body if I were invited to, like a trance medium letting me speak through their body. But that's exhausting, so I've heard, because you have to come down into a heavier plane and inhabit a flesh body and that sounds boring and tedious so I'll just sit here and relax."

"Coward," the Doctor said gleefully.

"Is he asking me to possess his body?" Rory said, glancing at his wife.

He looked at the Doctor who was making everyone laugh by clucking at him.

"He's asking me to possess his body, isn't he?" Rory said to his wife. "Because I need permission from the person to come into their body, right? That's how it works?"

"I believe so," Amy said. "I think you should and make him punch himself silly."

"Hmmm," Rory said, tapping his chin while he pretended to consider it. "Should I exhaust myself and expend energy and make the Doctor punch himself silly for a laugh? Hmmmm…"

"You can possess me!" Jack said to Rory.

"And do what, exactly?" Rory said.

"Believe me, Rory, you don't want to know the answer to that!" the Doctor said. "If there is a Hell, Jack could get you evicted to it, trust me," he said while Jack gave Rory a devilish grin.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

After eating, the Doctor, Jack, Donna and Brittany took everyone's plates, silverware and glasses upstairs.

"Are you feeling better?" Michelle said, walking to John's side of the bed.

"I do. That was delicious and it hit the spot," John said, patting his belly. "Best meal we had in months."

"I'll say, I think I'll just curl up with Rex and sleep now," Rose said with a sigh while she rubbed Rex's head.

"I want to be a companion someday," Michelle said to them.

"Seriously? After seeing us in this condition?" Rose said, her eyes wide.

"Nothing deters this child," Amy said. "She's heard all sorts of stories and knows all about the life of a time traveler and apparently, she still wants more. Even if you tell her your story, she'll probably still wanna do it."

"I like going places in the TARDIS," Michelle said to them.

"Where have you been?" John said.

"To London and a couple of planets."

"And did anything happen on those planets you visited?" John said.

"Nothing dangerous," Michelle said.

"I'm only asking that because it really is dangerous out there. Not all the time but it has its risks and you do see that not all aliens are friendly, yeah?" he said, pointing to his emaciated body.

"Yes but I still like traveling," Michelle said. "But I have to wait till I'm older."

"Well, thank Heavens, my older self has the sense to make her wait," John said to his wife.

"I had to wait for him," Amy said. "I met him when I was seven and I had to wait fourteen years to travel with him."

"And I had to wait fourteen years with her," Rory said. "And she was just as keen on the Doctor as Michelle is. And I had to pretend to be him when we were kids."

"Seriously?" Rose said.

"Yeah, I made up stories and we playacted and he was the Doctor," Amy said.

Rory blushed when John and Rose stared at him for a moment.

"And you willingly agreed to do this...playacting?" John finally said to him.

"Yes, because I was in love with her," Rory said, pointing to Amy. "I even went to university to try to be a proper doctor but I only made it as far as nurse before I left."

"Wow, that's dedication," Rose said while Michelle giggled. "I thought I was potty about the Doctor but you, you outdid me in my devotion, mate."

"He's a good bloke," Amy said, patting Rory's shoulder. "He's always been there for me. I have to tell you the story of how he became a Roman soldier and guarded me for a thousand years."

Rose and John looked at each other before looking at Rory in shock.

"I wanna hear the story," Michelle said, raising her hand while Rose and John continued to stare at Rory. "I wanna hear it whenever you tell it."

"Wait, are you like Jack then?" John said as Michelle put her hand down.

"No, I was an auton for awhile."

"What? How could you be an auton and then switch back?"

Rory pointed to his wife.

"It's a long story," Amy said.

"I'm with Michelle, I wanna hear it as well when you get ready to tell it," Rose said.

"Well, we could do a story swap," Amy said. "You tell us your story, we'll tell you ours."

"You got a deal," Rose said. "After telling you about us, I want to relax and just hear about something that didn't happen to me."

XOXOXOXOXOX

After doing the washing up and putting everything away, everyone came back downstairs. The Doctor walked over to John's IV tubing and pulled out the syringe with the nanomites in it.

"Thought I'd let you enjoy your meal first before doing this," he said. "I don't think there'll be any ill effects but hopefully they'll be repairing your eye while we listen to your story."

He inserted the syringe into the tubing and injected the nanomites into it.

"Rory was telling us about being an auton," Rose said to him as he took the needle out. "They're going to tell us the story about it after we're done with ours."

"Ah! The tale of Rory the Roman, perhaps that'll lighten the mood after your story. Especially since I have a feeling it'll needed to be lightened. Good luck, mate," he said, patting John's shoulder. "Let me know if you feel any odd side effects or if you feel your eye clearing up, yeah?"

John nodded and the Doctor told them to wait while he disposed of the syringe. He hurried into his TARDIS and five minutes later, he came back out and took his seat while everyone else got comfortable and waited for Rose and John to continue their story.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

"Well, where was I?" John mused. I suppose I was at the first meeting between me and the Brotherhood. Like I said, the Brotherhood was keen on meeting me because I could translate their language and speak it as well. They had several meetings, both with SETI and NASA and heads of state but they always wanted me and Rose there to observe and give input. I thought at first that they were honoring us but it turns out they were keeping careful watch on us and spying on us. This went on for a few months and I finally became suspicious because they kept making up excuses for the delay of their info and technology but always they wanted to meet with important people and with me and Rose. And like Brit said, it was like V, not only the whole we come in peace thing but the spaceships hovered over major cities and wouldn't leave. I finally asked if they could move their spaceships further up into orbit so they wouldn't have a tactical advantage if they decided to attack but they told me no. They said that they were keeping them above the cities so the residents would get used to their presence. That also sent off warning signals but I kept silent for the moment. I was only one man and I only had one life so I had to be cautious about fighting them since I could have landed up dead. Like I said, this whole back and forth went on for a few months until the Brotherhood finally decided to make their move…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

John sat in his office, working on some paperwork when he heard a knocking on his door. He looked up and smiled at Rose but the smile fell off his face when she saw how upset she looked.

"What is it?" he said.

"Another meeting with the bloody Brotherhood," Rose said, putting a piece of paper on his desk. "This time with Obama. I'm getting tired of flying all over the bloody world just so we can listen to them drone on and on about friendship and peace and we're gonna share this technology with you but we never do because we need to compile the data or the higher ups are in the loo or the cat needs to be put out."

John chuckled.

"So, you're also realizing that all this could be a sham, eh?" he said.

"They keep talking about helping us and they never do. But they wanna make sure we observe them at every moment. I'm tired of it," Rose said, sitting down in the chair in front of the desk. "Is there a way we can politely decline?"

"And face the wrath of Torchwood?" John teased. "You know they want us to go as well."

"Sod Torchwood, they're not flying around the world attending these meetings," Rose said. "I…"

She fell silent and looked over John's shoulder. John frowned and Rose pointed to the window behind him. He swiveled around in his chair and his eyes widened when he saw a blue force field dome coming down from the sky, containing all of London inside it.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"That was step one," John said to everyone. "The reason why they had spaceships over every city was because when the time came, they would project a force field dome over the city, trapping everyone inside. The peaceful meetings were a delaying tactic that allowed them to set up and get ready for the invasion. We had tried to warn everyone at Torchwood that this was coming but Pete was the only one that believed us and even he wasn't able to convince anyone. We wanted to warn the world leaders and the others at these peace meetings but the Brotherhood made sure we were never out of their sight so by the time everyone realized their true intentions, it was too late."

"Were you scared?" Michelle said.

"I was a bit scared but I was scared for Rose rather than for me. I didn't care what they did to me as long as they left Rose alone. Sadly though," he said with a sigh, "that was not to be."

"So they came down after they put up this force field and took you all?" Brittany said, rubbing Rex's head while she listened to them.

"Yes. Actually, they also put mini force fields around Torchwood, Parliament, BuckinghamPalace, 10 Downing and other places so they could contain the most important people. They did the same all over the world, trapping world leaders and politicians so they could be seized later. We were trapped inside that building and had to watch while they sent down smaller ships and started strafing the crowds with laser fire and taking control of everything. Rose and I should have gotten everyone to the dimension cannon and tried an escape there and then but we thought perhaps we could combat them. That was a big mistake."

"They made sure that we were all disarmed when they finally came inside," Rose said. "They made a point of coming after me and John and making sure we were contained. We knew one of the leaders of the Brotherhood since he pretended to be the liaison at the meetings and he pretended to be friendly with us. He said he had a name but he preferred to be called Matthew since he liked the sound of the name. He looked like everyone else except he had this squiggly tattoo over his right eye and his robe was trimmed with gold. If he didn't have those things, we wouldn't know him from the others. He came and saw us personally after we were captured…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Rose and John knelt on the floor of Rose's office while five Brotherhood soldiers stood around them and kept laser rifles aimed at them.

"What is this, what are you doing?" John asked them.

"We are beginning our harvest," one of the Brotherhood said dispassionately.

"Harvest? What harvest?" Rose said.

"Harvest of the planet and its resources," John said grimly.

"Very good, Mister Smith," the Brotherhood soldier said with a smirk. "You are much smarter than these brain-dead humans."

"So this is what you do then?" John said. "Invade a planet, strip it bare and move on?"

"Again, you're very smart," the soldier said. "Many times we are met with resistance early on but this time, it was incredibly easy. Like I said, brain-dead humans, so trusting and naïve. And you, you are part Time Lord; our commander did a scan early on. Tut tut, little part Time Lord, you should know better than to throw your lot in with a bunch of apes. Now you will join them in their captivity. Of course, it is up to the Commander to decide your fate…"

"Was that Matthew?" Michelle said.

"Yes, the commander was Matthew," John said. "We didn't see him for a bit since he was overseeing the invasion so we had to wait on our knees with guns pointed at our heads and listen to the sounds of screams throughout the building while the lesser Torchwood workers were slaughtered. It was during this time that Jackie and Tony were killed. We didn't know it at the time but they knew where Pete lived and they specifically targeted them because they were our relatives. Guilt by association," John said, taking Rose's hand when she lowered her eyes. "And they made sure we saw the bodies afterwards, just to ram home the pain. Of course, they were the lucky ones, all the dead were lucky because the living had to endure the living hell that came after the initial invasion."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

John and Rose took a little break while the Doctor and Jack went to make some tea for everyone. While they were upstairs, Donna stood up and put her hand on John's shoulder.

"I'm sorry about what happened over there," she said.

"Thanks, Donna," John said, taking her hand and squeezing it. "I'm glad we made it over here and for that I'm grateful for Amy and Rory," he said, looking over at them.

"I wish we could bring your family members here so you can see them again but I'm sure they're in the Heaven in the other universe and like I said, that's a separate realm," Amy said. "But I'm sure they're at peace and happy now."

Rose nodded.

"It'll take a lot just to get through the next part of the story," she said. "I really don't fancy remembering what I went through, let alone talk about it."

"Then let me talk, love," John said, patting her hand. "You just cuddle Panda and rest."

Rose grinned. She picked up the panda and held it close.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

When the Doctor and Jack returned with the tea, they passed out a cup to all the living adults. Amy and Rory glanced at each other and produced two cups of tea out of thin air. When the Doctor got to Michelle and Brittany, he smiled and showed them the tray he had given Lori. There were two mugs of tea left.

"Tea with milk in it, done the British way," he said to them. "Fancy a sip of it?"

"You put milk in tea?" Michelle said to them.

"Yes, we do," Donna said. "And it's good, try it."

Michelle and Brittany glanced at each other before taking the mugs.

"Splendid," the Doctor said happily. "You lot are gonna live in London, you oughta get used to the British way of doing things. Enjoy."

He put the tray over by the TV while Michelle and Brittany took a sip of their tea.

"Wow, it's not bad," Brittany said. "It's different but I like it."

"Me too," Michelle said.

"Splendid, not you are going to be British," the Doctor said, zooming back over to her. "And be sure to say macaroni cheese from now on."

"No!" Michelle said and giggled when the Doctor gave her a peeved look.

"Give me time, you will come round to my way of doing things," he said as he went back to the TV, took his mug off the top of it and sat down beside her.

"Thank you for this," John said after taking a sip of his tea, "this is another thing we missed. A nice cuppa. So…" he said, scratching his chin. "After the initial onslaught, me, Rose and Pete were taken aboard the mothership with several others and put inside a bleak metal cell with no food, water, beds or anything to make us comfortable. We sat there for several hours until Matthew deigned to speak with us. By then, the invasion force was going across London, wiping out any last pockets of resistance and making sure everything was secure. In this meeting with Matthew, all formalities were dropped and he revealed his true plans to us at last and also revealed that he had spied on us and gathered information about us, our family and Torchwood. He also told us that he'd been studying Earth history in preparation for the invasion and fancied Hitler and his Final Solution. He liked the idea of the Nazi concentration camps so that was his idea, to emulate what he did."

He took another sip of tea before continuing.

"The camps were set up along the lines of the Nazi ones. Except that instead of being gassed, people who were deemed to be weak and inefficient were vaporized into atoms. Matthew told me that they like to keep things tidy when they invade. He even named most of the camps after the Nazi ones so when it was assembled, we were sent to Dachau. That was put in the heart of London after the mothership vaporized some buildings to make room for it."

"We studied Hitler in school," Brittany said. "How Hitler rounded up the jews and gassed them or put them to work or did experiments on them."

"Yes and that's what Matthew did as well," John said. "And like those camps, his camps had horrible food…when it was available, cramped conditions and poor waste disposal. So naturally there was disease everywhere. Cholera, typhus, tuberculosis…and that's how Pete succumbed. He died from Cholera after being weakened by starvation, torture and forced labor," John said, taking Rose's hand. "And most of the others from Torchwood suffered the same fate. Rose and I…however…were kept alive and kept relatively disease free because Matthew wanted us to watch as everyone else died around us. We and everyone else had our hair shaved off, which actually was a blessing as there were also lice and fleas in the camps. We were completely bald when we finally made our escape and now…" he said, touching the top of his head. "We do have a bit of fuzz up there so I suppose you could calculate who long we were in the void by the rate of our hair growth."

"We did try to escape eventually…" Rose said when John paused to take a sip of his tea.

"Are you sure you're up to talking about this?" John said, giving her a worried look after swallowing his tea.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just rest, you don't have to do all the talking," Rose said, patting his hand. "Anyway, we'd been starved. Although, we lost a bit more weight in the void ship but we were nearly this thin by the time we tried to escape…"

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Rose!"

Rose jerked awake when she heard John calling her name. She had been sleeping in the barracks in a metal framed bed with a thin mat for a mattress and a thin cotton blanket that barely kept her warm at night. It took her a few minutes to respond since she was so weak from hunger and lack of proper rest.

"Yeah?" she finally said in a groggy voice.

John was standing over her, wearing ragged clothes with a shaved head and a determined expression on his face.

"Rose, we have to go," he whispered as he knelt down beside her bed.

"Go where?" Rose whispered back after checking to make sure no one was listening.

"Anywhere. Out of here before we've snuffed it," John whispered. "We're not gonna last much longer unless we do something."

"But how?" Rose said. "They have fences all around this place with razor wire on it. We can't climb over and we can't go under, unless you've been tunneling all this time."

"No, I haven't. But we need to take control of the supervisor's office and force him to fly us out of here."

"How?" Rose whispered.

"I don't know how but we have to try. Anything is preferable to here right now, even death. Are you with me?"

"Always," Rose said.

"Okay, give it an hour until the camp settles down for the night. Then we sneak out of here and find a way to get out or die trying."

Rose squeezed his hand and John kissed her forehead before getting up and hurrying back to his bed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"So we waited until everything was quiet in the camp," Rose said. "Well, relatively quiet since there were always people moaning and crying out in pain or just weeping but the outside was quiet and we knew the guards were on patrol. Well, I realized that John had managed to smuggle a bit of rope from the camp's shed, one for each of us, and we used that little bit of rope as a garrote."

"Huh?" Michelle said.

"We used it to strangle people with," John said.

"Oh," Michelle said. "So you snuck out and strangled the guards?"

"Yes," John said. "We tried to be quiet and silent and we managed to kill three of them before making it to the supervisor's office. Or so I thought. Because you see, I didn't know much about The Brotherhood and I didn't know that they could do what the Doctor does and activate a respiratory bypass system in order to survive. That means that he can turn off his breathing voluntarily and live for awhile without having to breathe. They did that when we were strangling them and pretended to be dead so by the time Rose and I got to the supervisor's office, they were waiting for us."

He paused when Michelle stood up.

"Sorry, I changed my mind, I don't think I wanna hear what happens next," she said. "I'm gonna go upstairs for awhile."

"Yeah, me too," Brittany said, standing up.

"Well, wait, we don't have to go into gory detail," John said, gesturing for them to come to him. "I really don't want to go into detail and I know Rose doesn't. But Rose was beaten severely and I lost my eye, which was our punishment for our attempted escape. They thought that would deter me from making any more escape attempts but that just made me all the more determined, especially after seeing Rose once they got through with her. I just bided my time and Rose and I made sure that we kept on their good side and pretended to be obedient and a few months later, we tried again and this time we used pieces of metal that we'd managed to fashion into crude knives after tying them to the ends of broom handles and we stabbed those bastards several times to make sure they were well and truly dead. By then we were both sick, tired and enraged and at our wit's end so we both attacked with no hold's barred and this time we burst into the office and just stabbed whoever was there until we reached the supervisor and we held our knives to his throat and demanded he take us to his shuttlecraft. We'd also got a few laser blasters and we shot any Brotherhood person that we saw on the way to the craft. We got inside and forced the supervisor to fly us back to Torchwood because I had thought of the void ship and knew that Torchwood had made one after studying the one the Cult of Skaro used. Don't ask me why they did it because I don't wanna know but we were thankful they had it. We killed the supervisor the moment he landed beside Torchwood and we forced our way inside. By then, others were coming including Matthew so we grabbed a couple of rucksacks from the locker room and some food that we found and we ran to the storage room where the void ship was being held, used the magna clamps that were also there, carried it to the dimension cannon room, set a course for here, climbed inside and hoped for the best. We survived for a time on the food but eventually we ran out and we weakened and passed out and when I came to, there was Michelle," he said, patting her shoulder. And the rest you know. So that was the tale of our captivity and escape without going into too much grisly detail. And I'm spent," John said, sighing, before taking another sip of tea.

He smiled when Michelle and Brittany hugged him and he hugged them with one arm before they went around to Rose and did the same. John looked over when the Doctor came over to him and patted his shoulder.

"Wanted to check the eye and tell you that you both were very brave and I'm glad you tried again after the first attempt," he said to them. "You're eye looks like it's healing up, mate. Good."

"Thank you for mending it and not bringing up the past," John said.

"I was wrong to do that. I told you when I did that, I did it out of anger and wasn't thinking clearly and I still blame myself for what happened to you and Rose, even though you don't want me carrying any blame. I still do and I will for as long as I live but I can do some good and mend you both."

"Thank you," John said. "Now what about this whole living for 1000 years thing?" he said, looking at Rory. "How did you end up being an auton?"

Rory pointed to his wife and Amy raised her hand. The Doctor told everyone he would check on his patients while Rory and Amy told their story. Michelle watched while he walked to the TARDIS to get more IV bags and serum and followed him.

"Hey, Bookworm, don't you wanna hear about Rory the Roman?" he asked when he noticed she was following him.

"No, I can hear that another time," Michelle said as they walked into the storage room.

"Are you okay?" the Doctor said when he noticed how glum she looked. "It got to you, didn't it? Their story."

Michelle nodded and the Doctor put his arm around her while clicking his fingers. The TARDIS doors opened and they went inside.

"You can help me carry out the supplies then," the Doctor said to her while they headed towards the back door.

"I wish we could make things right," Michelle said as she followed the Doctor up the stairs.

"Ah, my little friend, I wish that often," the Doctor said. "But that's not always possible. There were times when I didn't see eye to eye with Jackie, Rose's mum, but I never wanted her dead. And I hate that Rose lost her mum. I wanted her to be safe the day she was first taken from me and I tried to make her stay with her mum because I knew they were close. It would be the same with you and your mum because I know you and Lori are close. It's terrible and I wish it could be fixed but what's done is done and sometimes you just have to pick up the pieces and try to move on and live for the people you lost."

Michelle nodded and the Doctor took her hand and squeezed it while they walked towards the med bay.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

"Hey, guys, we're home!" Lori called out as she came inside the house.

"We're down here, Mommy," Michelle called up as everyone else came inside the house.

"Are you finished with the story?" Lori yelled down.

"Yes," Michelle yelled up.

"Okay, you can go down then," Lori said to Mandy and Tom as Jim shut the door behind everyone.

Mandy and Tom hurried downstairs while Lori and Jim followed them. Rex bounded towards the children but they ignored him for the moment and made a beeline to Rose and John.

"Hey, your eye isn't all weird like it was," Tom said when he reached John's side with Mandy.

"No, it's healing up," John said, leaning forward to show them his half mended eye. "The Doctor did that for me."

They hugged him and walked around to Rose.

"Hi, Sissy," Tom said, hugging her tightly.

"Hello, little brother, did you and Mandy have fun tonight?" Rose asked them.

"Yes, we played putt-putt," Tom said.

"Putt-putt?" Rose said, looking at Lori.

"Miniature golf," Lori said.

"Oh! Okay! Yeah, I like playing that as well," Rose said to Tom. "I'm glad you had fun, love."

"Are you getting better?" Tom said, a worried look on his face.

"Yes, I am. We both are," Rose said, hugging him.

"Ew…and just when I thought we were rid of you," the Doctor said, stepping up to Mandy.

"You mind your Ps and Qs!" Mandy said, spinning around and pointing at him.

"Never!" the Doctor said while everyone laughed. "I will never mind my Ps and Qs! I will mind my Rs and Ts before I mind my Ps and Qs. Now stand aside and let me get to Rose before you get cooties all over her!"

"No," Mandy said with a giggle while he walked over to her.

"Lookie, sparse hair," the Doctor said to Mandy while he rubbed the top of Rose's head.

"Actually, that feels nice, keep on with that," Rose said while everyone laughed.

The Doctor massaged her head while Rose closed her eyes and savored it.

"See, she likes it," the Doctor said to the children while John watched and grinned. "I know what'll make Rose happy, unlike you lot with your whining and crying and shouts of Ps and Qs."

"You leave my sissy's hair alone!" Tom said with a giggle while he tugged at the Doctor's free hand.

The children giggle when the Doctor feigned anger, stopped massaging Rose's scalp and put his finger on top of her head while he gave Tom a pointed look.

"Hey, stop that," Tom said while Rose chuckled.

"La, la, la, lee, loo, la," the Doctor sang while he kept his finger on Rose's head.

He grunted when Michelle ran around the back and smacked his ass as hard as she could.

"Ooo, better run now," Rose said while the children laughed harder at the Doctor's incensed look. "Even I wasn't brave enough to smack the bum of the Oncoming Storm."

"Mommy, save me," Michelle said, running around Lori.

"Why? You did it," Lori said while everyone laughed.

"Okay, Daddy can save me then," Michelle said, running behind him.

"Um…okay," Jim said. "Don't!" he said sternly as he pointed a finger at the Doctor.

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," the Doctor said, taking his finger away from Rose while everyone laughed hysterically.

"Can I put my finger on Rose's head?" Jack asked him.

"Sure, why not?" Jim said with a shrug.

"Daddy likes me best," Jack said to the Doctor while he put his finger on Rose's head.

"Whaaaa, Daddy hates me!" the Doctor whined while everyone laughed. "I don't like this game anymore! I'll go and sulk over here!"

The children laughed while he stomped over to the sofa bed and plopped down on the side of it, facing away from everyone while he folded his arms over his chest. Michelle walked over and plopped down beside him.

"Ewww, cooties," the Doctor said, scooting to the right while Michelle giggled.

Donna grinned at everyone and walked over to him.

"Aw, is Doctor going to sulk now?" she said in a high-pitched tone of voice.

"Yup. And I'm staying away from the cooties as well," the Doctor said, pointing to Michelle.

Suddenly Jack flounced over to the Doctor and hugged him tightly.

"I love you even when no one else will. You and your big beautiful floppy hair and not really there eyebrows!" he squealed.

Everyone laughed when the Doctor tried to squirm out of his grasp.

"Yes, I love you and your tweed and your bow tie and this whole outfit that just screams out geeky, socially awkward alien!" Jack said, hugging him harder. "Why must we be forever at odds? Why can't we just get along, you old fart, you?"

"Gah!" the Doctor said when Jack planted a big sloppy kiss on his cheek and flounced back to Rose.

Everyone laughed while the Doctor gave him a dirty look while he wiped the slobber off his cheek.

"Now do Rose that way and see if you don't land up with your teeth on the floor," the Doctor said to him.

"Oooh, my Rosie," Jack said as he hugged her. "My beautiful blondie who is painfully thin and bald at the moment but you know what? I don't care because I love ya!"

Rose giggled and shot her husband a look.

"Well?" she said to John, pointing to Jack who was still hugging her.

"I'm trying to appear nonexistent so I don't get hugged and slobbered over," John said.

Jack let out an exaggerated gasp.

"You mean you'll leave your wife to my mercies? Oh, that's so sweeeeet!" he said, hugging Rose tightly.

John's eyes widened when Donna grabbed him and began to hug.

"Don't worry, Jack, I'll see that he's loved on," Donna said to Jack while he hugged John. "Oooh, you're a big, bald beautiful Time Lord, aren't ya?"

"You know, this is really odd," John said while everyone laughed. "But then again, after all the abuse, it's sorta nice as well."

Donna kissed the top of his head and sat down on the sofa bed behind the Doctor. Amy nudged her husband and suddenly she was by the side of John's bed.

"You're gonna hug me now?" John said to her.

"No, just showing off. Observe," Amy said.

Suddenly, she transformed herself into an angel with a bright golden glow around her and a teeny weeny halo above her head.

"Be blessed, my friend," Amy said, putting her hand on his head.

"Thank you, Angel Amy," John said.

"Pond, stop being holier than thou and get in the TARDIS and work!" the Doctor yelled at her over his shoulder. "I don't pay you to stand around and impersonate angels! Now scoot!"

"Excuse me, my friend," Amy said to John.

She disappeared for a moment and reappeared a few seconds later in front of the Doctor, this time looking like a Weeping Angel.

"Don't blink," she said menacingly to the Doctor.

"What's that supposed to be, a demonic angel?" Rose said to John.

"Weeping Angel they're called but yeah, demonic angel could also work," John said to her.

"Rory, come and collect your wife, will you please?" the Doctor called out.

Everyone laughed at something and the Doctor looked over his shoulder to see Rory filing his nails while he lounged against the heavenly tree.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rory said to the Doctor as he looked up. "I was being a metrosexual here and the sound of my filing prevented me from hearing you properly."

The Doctor tried to say something cheeky in return but all he could do was laugh at that and everyone laughed with him. Amy turned back into her good angel self and put her hand on his head.

"And you, be blessed as well," she said with a posh accent before disappearing and reappearing beside Rory.

"Ewww, spirit cooties," the Doctor said, putting his hand on his head.

"Well, you know what, I think I'm gonna leave you guys to your fun and go up and have a shower," Lori said to them.

"Yes, I'm gonna do the same but don't kill each other or drive each other insane," Jim added. "And don't destroy the house before we move from here, okay?"

"Yes, Daddy," everyone said in unison.

Jim gave Lori a bemused look while everyone laughed.

"You know what, dear? I didn't know when we adopted this crowd that we were adding to our collection of children," Jim said, putting his arm around Lori while they headed upstairs.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

A few hours later, Lori was watching TV while drinking a glass of milk. Jim had decided to go to bed after taking a shower. He was still going to work for the moment although he was about to give his two week's notice to his bosses since they had finally decided on the house in Mayfair and were finalizing everything. Lori grinned, listening to the laughter coming from down below, happy that Rose and John were surrounded by good friends and family and warmth and love now.

She smiled when she saw Michelle coming into the room.

"Hey, baby, having fun downstairs?" she said to her.

"Yes, can I have some Coke, Mommy?" she asked.

"A little bit. You guys are hyper enough as it is without adding caffeine to the mix," Lori said.

Michelle walked into the kitchen and came out five minutes later holding a small Muppets glass filled with Coke. Lori frowned when she walked over to her rather than go back downstairs.

"Are you alright, baby?" she said to Michelle.

"I think the Doctor and Rose were sweethearts," Michelle said.

"Well…John is his clone, right? And a clone is a duplicate of another person so if John loves her, I'm sure the Doctor does too," Lori said.

"I think he still loves her lots," Michelle said.

"Probably so. Why? Has he said this to you?"

"No, but he said it to his other self when they were arguing," Michelle said with a shrug. "He looks at her and he looks at River the same way, like he really loves her."

"I see. Well, I don't think he'd take her from John. Especially not while he's thin and sickly. That would be mean."

"I don't think he will either. I just think he still loves her lots," Michelle said with a shrug.

"And he probably always will but he seems like a gentleman…when he's not being a kid anyway," Lori said, nudging her daughter's rib.

"I love him lots too," Michelle said.

"I know, he's your bestest friend, isn't he?" Lori said.

Michelle nodded. Then fell silent for a moment.

"I got upset when they were telling the story and they were about to say what those aliens did to them," Michelle finally said. "So John told kinda a brief version of it and didn't say very much about the torture and stuff."

"Good. Because you don't need to know all that and I doubt the Doctor does too," Lori said.

"The Doctor feels guilty about it because he's the one that left them there," Michelle said.

"Probably does, baby. But even if talked to him about it, I doubt I'd be able to change his mind about that," Lori said. "I also hate that he's beating himself up over all this but I can't reach into his mind and block the guilt. After all he's been through, I suspect he has a lot of guilt inside him about a lot of things."

"I just wish we could go back and help the other Earth but the Doctor says it's dangerous to go over there because you could destroy the universe."

"Well, I would listen to him then. He's the expert on stuff like that," Lori said, stroking Michelle's cheek. "And I'm sure he wants to go over there and kick butt too but he has to do what's best for everyone and if it means putting all of us in danger, I'm sure he won't do it."

"He's very complicated," Michelle said after a moment's thought.

"Yes, he is," Lori said, nodding. "He's very old but he can be a kid around you guys. He's very wise but very goofy at the same time. And I think there's more to him than meets the eye. I think he doesn't show us everything and hides a lot."

Michelle nodded.

"I think so too, Mommy," Michelle said. "Do you think if John is his clone, that we'll be bestest friends too?"

"I think so. I think he and Rose like you a lot. And I think he'll be just as silly as the Doctor once he's recovered from all this."

"I like that him and Rose are coming with us to Mayfair for now," Michelle said. "I want to be bestest friends with them."

"I think you will, honey. But you have to give them time to heal, you know."

Michelle nodded and Lori smiled and leaned over to give him a kiss.

"Now quit worrying and go and have some fun. Make John and Rose laugh and feel better," Lori said. "But tell them Daddy's in bed now so keep it down a bit."

"Okay, Mommy."

Lori settled back in her chair and watched while Michelle carried her Coke out of the room.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

"So there she is," the Doctor said while Michelle came down the stairs. "And she has pop and didn't get any for the rest of us? For shame, Bookworm!"

"You didn't ask me to get you any," Michelle said, stopping beside him.

"I shouldn't have to ask. The mind meld between us should be complete by now and whenever I think of something, you should know to go and get it for me."

"Whatever," Michelle said, rolling her eyes while she walked past him.

"Excuse me, did you just "diss" me just then," the Doctor said to her. "Was that a lack of respect in your tone because if it was…"

The Doctor gasped when Jack suddenly ran up and seized him from behind.

"Don't be angry, sweetums, it puts a bad vibe on the whole room," he purred into his ear.

"Harkness, I am ten seconds away from throwing you over my shoulder and stomping on your ribcage so I suggest letting go now," the Doctor said while everyone laughed.

"Love the floppy hair, Doc," Jack said, patting him on the head before walking away.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

After a couple of hours, everyone except the Doctor decided to go to sleep. Blankets and sleeping bags were spread around the sofa bed and Rose and John's bed and everyone stretched out on them while Donna and Brittany slept on the sofa bed. The Doctor busied himself with running scans and making sure the IV bags were full and medicine was administered to his patients. He noticed with some satisfaction that John's eye looked normal now and he was happy he was able to find a way to mend it.

He finished disposing of the used IV bags and syringes in his med bay when he sensed someone behind him. He turned to see Jack leaning against the doorway.

"Hard at work?" he said to him.

"Yes, I am so no time for cuddles, I'm afraid," the Doctor said tersely.

Jack chuckled.

"Oh that? That was a bit of teasing on my part," he said. "I was just trying to make everyone laugh, same as you."

The Doctor smiled and nodded.

"Are you glad she's back?" Jack asked after a moment of silence between them.

"Who? Rose?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, obviously. Who else?"

"Yes, of course I am," the Doctor said, tidying up his workspace.

"I was just wondering since you apparently wanted them gone," Jack said.

"I didn't want…her gone," the Doctor said hesitantly while Jack studied him. "But I didn't trust John to be on his own so I decided perhaps it was best if I left her with him. To heal him the way she healed me."

"And all this because he blew up some Daleks that deserved to die?" Jack said.

"It was genocide, Jack."

"Yeah, maybe so. Except those things were artificially created in the first place," Jack said, coming into the room. "They were evil through and through and if anything couldn't be left on their own, it was those things. What were you gonna do, Doc? Just let them go somewhere else where they and Davros could do more damage? I do agree that genocide is wrong but not in this case. In this case, I say good riddance to all of them."

"Okay, so what's your point?" the Doctor said.

"My point is that I think you treated John unfairly and I think the universe has a way of correcting things and I think the reason they're here is because this is your chance to make amends with them."

"Amends…with Rose?" the Doctor said.

"Possibly. I'm sure she didn't appreciate being stranded there after she risked everything to find you again."

The Doctor thought about that and nodded.

"Perhaps but I can't take her back. She's married and so am I."

"I'm not saying that but I think this is an opportunity to grow closer to them. Just don't dump them off with this family and head for the stars and never see them again."

"I won't," the Doctor said indignantly. "Especially since I've been a part of this family since Thanksgiving. I was one of the first ones they adopted so even if I was at odds with John, which I'm not, I wouldn't stop seeing them just to avoid contact with my clone."

Jack nodded.

"I'm not trying to make you angry. Just pointing out that even if you aren't married to Rose, she can still be a part of your life and you can still be close to her," he said.

"I know that," the Doctor said. "But there still have to be boundaries between us even if the whole Curse of the Time Lords thing no longer applies. I have a feeling River isn't into the whole open marriage thing."

"I just want you to be in her life. I'm going to do the same because she's like family to me and I care for her deeply, just as you do. She lost her family and now we have to be there for her, come what may."

The Doctor nodded.

"I agree," he said. "Which is why I'm glad she and John are staying with the others in Mayfair."

"Me too. And It'll be nice to have them over in London. Be easier to see them too," Jack said. "They've grown on me the same way they've grown on you. Never had much of a family growing up so like you, I'll take whatever family I can find."

The Doctor nodded and smiled. Jack grinned, flounced over to him and threw his arms around him.

"And you, you floppy haired cutie, you're a part of my family too, even if the tweed is a bit much," he said, squeezing him.

"Jack, stop that or I swear I'll ask Rex to eat you!" the Doctor said.

"Just being affectionate, Big Brother!" Jack said, patting his head. "So now that we've had a big brother talk, I'm going back to bed. Have fun staying awake!"

"Yeah, just go and…gah, stop it!" he said when Jack hugged him again.

"Love the floppy hair!" Jack gushed while the Doctor tried to squirm out of his grasp.

Jack planted a wet sloppy kiss on his cheek and ran out of the room before the Doctor could retaliate. The Doctor wiped the drool off his cheek, looked at the doorway and shook his head before he resumed tidying up the med bay.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

(July 4th, 2014…)

It had been nearly a month since Rose and John came to stay with the Stevens family and in that time, both of them had healed and were trying to live normal lives. After the Doctor was satisfied that they were both out of the danger zone, he went back to helping Lori and Jim finalize the paperwork on the house as well as taking a few trips with Donna, knowing that his friends were being left in loving and capable hands. Jack decided to take a break off from Torchwood to help out the family and make sure his friends were healing.

Finally everything was ready to go and the children had been enrolled in London schools with the exception of Mandy who still had another year to go. But before they moved, Lori decided that since July 4th was near, they would spend one last holiday in Indiana before beginning their new lives in England. They invited the Doctor and all of their new friends along with Dan and Ruth and Alicia and Tom to come and join them in Memorial Park in New Castle.

By now, both Rose and John were up and about and using canes to help support themselves. The Doctor brought Rose a wig that the TARDIS had made, both realistic looking and the color and style of her old hairdo. When she wore it, the Doctor couldn't tell that she had been shaved bald. He offered one to John who now had hair about the same length as the Ninth Doctor but he politely refused.

"A wig would feel funny on my head," he said to the Doctor.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Kids, hurry up! The Doctor said he's coming any minute," Lori called out as she stuck her head out of the kitchen doorway.

The house was now sparsely furnished since the Doctor had used the TARDIS to help move their things into their new house, only the basics remained in each room. Inside the kitchen, John and Jack were helping Lori assemble everything they'd need for the barbecue once they got there while Rose sat at the counter and watched. Beside Rose were two huge packages of personal fireworks that they were going to set off after they got back home.

"I'm here, Mommy," Mandy said, coming inside the room.

"Here for what?" Lori said as she, Jack and John put packages of hot dogs and hamburgers into a canvas tote bag.

"I don't know. I'm just here," Mandy said with a shrug.

"Are you ready to go?" Lori said while John and Jack chucked.

"I guess," Mandy said with another shrug.

"Well, do you want to go down and wait for the Doctor? He should be here any minute," Lori said.

"Okay," Mandy said before skipping out of the room.

She headed downstairs and looked around. Most of the furniture, books and other things had been taken to the other house and the rooms looked empty and bare. Only the sofa bed and John and Rose's bed remained.

"Goodbye, house," Mandy said as she jumped down from the top step to the floor.

She headed towards the sofa bed to wait but veered at the last minute and went to the window and looked out at the backyard of the house she had lived in since she was born. She continued gazing out the window even when she heard the wheezing sound coming form the now empty storage room.

"Lori, we're here!" the Doctor yelled out as the storage door opened and he stepped into the unfinished room followed by Donna, Martha, Sarah Jane, Luke, Clyde, Rani, Wilf and Sylvia.

The Doctor froze when he came out of the unfinished room, looked around and saw Mandy standing by the window, her back to him while she still gazed out at the backyard.

"Well…if it isn't Ps and Qs herself," the Doctor said while he walked over to her.

He frowned when she glanced at him before looking out the window again.

"Hey, is something wrong?" the Doctor said as he and everyone else gathered around her.

"Just saying goodbye to the house," Mandy said, glancing up at him.

"Ah, yes, it's time, isn't it?" the Doctor said, patting her shoulder. "Time to leave this wonderful house and go on to a new adventure, eh?"

"Yup," Mandy said, glancing up at him.

"Eh, you'll be fine. A couple of months from now, you'll be saying, "Indiana, what's that?" and you'll know London like the back of your hand. Is your family ready to go?"

"I think so. They're upstairs in the kitchen."

"Well!" the Doctor said, scooping her up while she squealed with delight. "Let's go and see them, eh? And quit being so sad. You'll have loads of fun in London, promise! And mind your Ps and Qs there cause I don't wanna have to save London from you."

"You mind your Ps and Qs!" Mandy said while everyone laughed.

"Ah, there she is, the old cheeky monkey has returned," the Doctor said, holding her close to him while they headed upstairs.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

After getting everything and everyone inside the TARDIS, the Doctor asked his ship to find Dan, Ruth, Tom and Alicia inside the park and land near them. The TARDIS scanned for a moment before taking them to the park. A few minutes later, she stopped and the Doctor went to the front door. He opened it and peeked out while everyone waited.

"So, are they there?" Donna said as she and everyone else stood by the console.

"Well…I'm looking Dan directly in the face so apparently they're here," they heard the Doctor say while they heard Dan, Alicia, Tom and Ruth's laughter outside.

"That thing is handy," they heard Alicia say while they all came down the steps and followed the Doctor outside.

When they stepped outside, Dan, Alicia, Tom and Ruth were there to welcome them. The TARDIS had landed beside a large oak tree and on the other side of the tree were several folding canvas chairs. Beyond that was a small concrete patio with a wooden picnic table and a cast iron barbecue grill. Dan and Tom were already frying some burgers on the grill and they waved to everyone as they came out. They pointed to the picnic table which already had some food and plastic plates, cups and cutlery on top of it and Jack, Clyde and Luke added to it with the stuff they brought.

"Go ahead and sit," Ruth said to John and Rose when they came outside, gesturing to the canvas chairs. "Do you want something to drink? We have soft drinks, iced tea and lemonade."

"Lemonade sounds good," John said.

"I'll have one as well," Rose said as she and her husband walked over to the chairs and eased into them.

The Doctor asked the TARDIS to put up a force field barrier five feet outside her doors for Rex so he could come outside but not wander off and he left one door open for him if he wanted to go back inside. He arranged it so people could go in and out of the force field but Rex couldn't get out of it. The TARDIS also produced a few chew toys and dog toys for him and Rex wagged his tail happily when the Doctor set them down just outside the door and he instantly lay down and went to work gnawing on a large rawhide bone. The last thing the Doctor did before joining everyone was increase the perception filter on his ship so nearby people wouldn't notice it. He then brought out a tote bag containing some summer toys for the children and teens and gave the bag to Brittany before asking if he could be of any assistance to anyone.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

After helping serve drinks and some crisps and snack food to some of the people present, the Doctor finally sat down in one of the canvas chairs and relaxed along with Wilf and Sylvia. The children and teens played catch with a Frisbee while the men cooked the meat. Sarah Jane, Donna, Alicia, Ruth and Martha sat the picnic table, chatting while Jack helped Dan, Jim and Great Uncle Tom fix the food. While Jack was using some metal tongs to put some of the finished burgers onto a plate, the Frisbee landed near his feet. He glanced down at it and quickly set the plate and tongs down, snatching the Frisbee up when he saw Mandy coming to get it.

"What do you say?" Jack said, holding the Frisbee against his chest when Mandy reached up for it.

"I don't know," Mandy said with a shrug. "I want that," she added, pointing to the Frisbee.

"Give me five dollars and I'll give you the Frisbee," Jack said.

"No."

"Okay then, Frisbee stays with me then," Jack said.

He gasped and everyone laughed when Mandy tried to stomp on his foot.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" she shrieked.

"Okay, here! Take it!" Jack said, throwing it to the ground while everyone laughed harder.

"Yay," Mandy said, picking it up and running back to the other children.

"Sheesh, that child is dangerous," Jack said, picking up the plate and tongs while the adults sniggered at him.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

"Kids, the food is ready," Lori yelled.

The children stopped playing with the Frisbee and came over to the table. The adults let them go first, waiting until they'd filled their plates before getting some of their own. However, Little Tom was looking at Rose as he was getting his plate filled by Lori. He tugged on his mother's sleeve and whispered something to her. Lori nodded and Tom walked over to Rose.

"Hi, Sissy. You want me to get your food for you?" he asked.

"Um…yes, that would be lovely," Rose said.

"Okay, what you want?"

"Oi!" John teased Tom as he waved his arms in the air. "Oi, I'm here as well!"

Tom giggled and pretended to ignore him while John poked his ribs playfully.

"Well, a burger would be nice," Rose said, trying not to laugh at her husband's playfulness with Tom. "Um…perhaps some potato salad and some crisps?"

"Oi, I'm here too!" John said, poking Tom's side while he giggled and kept on ignoring him.

Jack grinned at the Doctor and walked over to John.

"Oi!" Jack said, poking the top of John's head. "Leave the child alone!"

"I'm trying to get service," John said to Jack while Tom walked over to his mother. "I am an invalid as well and I demand a slave to procure my food for me!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake, ya big baby," Donna said with mock exasperation as she got up from the picnic table. "What do ya want, ya invalid?" she said, walking up to him and putting her hands on her hips.

"I would like a burger and some crisps and some potato salad and some of that pork and beans over there," John said, pointing to the picnic table. "And I would like the burger to have some lettuce, onion and a bit of ketchup on it, if you don't mind."

"Okay, wait a tic," Donna said.

She walked over to the Doctor and poked him in the back.

"Your clone wants food," she said to him.

"And aren't you getting him some?" the Doctor said while Donna walked back to the picnic table amidst laughter. "You were the one that got up and talked to him, why do I have to get it?"

"Because I have weak wrists and I can't carry that much food," Donna said demurely as she held up her hands to him.

Everyone laughed when the Doctor and his clone exchanged a look of exasperation. Donna grinned and got up; telling everyone she was just joking and she'd get it before grabbing a plate.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

After everyone got their food and Rex got a couple of burgers to munch on, they sat around and chatted while eating. By now, several other people were in the area, barbecuing or sitting in chairs or on blankets, laughing and chatting with each other. In the distance, they could hear the pop of firecrackers and the sizzle of fountains being set off. Little Tom sat near his adopted sister, asking periodically if she needed anything. John was touched that Tom was determined to be a good brother to Rose and take care of her and he could tell that Rose loved it as well.

"So!" the Doctor finally said to everyone. "Today is the day America celebrates not being British anymore! Hurrah!"

Everyone laughed.

"Yes, hurray for the Yanks who broke away from us a long time ago," Martha said dryly. "Nice to know the Septics are still rubbing it in our faces."

"We're gonna live in London soon," Michelle said to her.

"I know! Which makes you cool because you want to live in an awesome city!" Martha said.

"What's Septics though?" Brittany said.

The British people sniggered.

"There's this thing called Cockney Rhyming Slang," Martha said. "They take words and use other rhyming words to disguise the original word. Septic Tank rhymes with Yank which is what you are. Most times you drop the rhyming word so Yanks are Septics."

"Ooookay," Brittany said while everyone laughed. "Yeah, that's something I'll have to start learning when I get over to London."

"We'll help ya out," Martha said. "We'll teach you lot how to blend in and be like the natives."

"Be British in other words," the Doctor said. "At last, Bookworm will have no choice except to conform. If she says macaroni and cheese in London, she will hear "Tee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee hee…"

"You be quiet," Michelle said to him.

"No, I'm always right, even when I'm wrong, I'm right, so I will not keep silent. You will conform, mark my words," the Doctor said.

"I see the arrogance hasn't changed with this new body," Jack said to John and Rose.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

After eating, the adults talked while the children played nearby. When it began to grow darker, the Doctor took Rex inside the TARDIS so the noise wouldn't frighten him and asked the TARDIS to take him to his personal room so he could relax away from the fireworks. He then brought out some blankets and spread them out in front of the canvas chairs. The children sat down on them and so did Jack, the Doctor, Lori and Jim. John, Rose, Dan, Ruth, Great Uncle Tom and Alicia sat in the chairs and the remainder sat at the picnic table. Michelle looked over her shoulder at the Doctor and then crawled over to him.

"Ew, here comes Cooties again," the Doctor said, making a face.

"I'll sit where I want," Michelle said, plopping her butt down beside him.

The Doctor mimed pulling out a spray can and made a hissing sound while he pretended to spray her.

"What are you doing?" Michelle asked him.

"Cootie repellant, I don't want your nasty cooties all over me," the Doctor said, putting his imaginary can back in his pocket.

Lori laughed when Michelle shook her hair at him and the Doctor recoiled in mock fear.

"Eeee, cooties!" he said while everyone laughed.

He smiled and put his arm around her and Michelle snuggled close to him. She was silent for a moment before speaking to the Doctor.

"I hate the fireworks that go boom," she said to him.

"I'm sorry?" the Doctor said.

"The fireworks that go boom," Michelle said.

"She hates the ones that don't do anything except make a loud boom," Lori said to him.

"Ooooh, okay," the Doctor said. "Sooo…I could terrorize you by asking the TARDIS to recreate that noise whenever you're inside her then?" he said to Michelle.

"You do and I'll kick you somewhere boys don't like to be kicked," Michelle said.

"How do you know where they don't like to be kicked?" the Doctor said.

"Because I kicked a boy there once."

"What? When was this?" the Doctor said while everyone laughed.

"This boy wouldn't leave me alone and called me a nerd and stuff and one day he kept following me around the playground and teasing me and stuff so I hauled off and kicked him in the ding ding."

Everyone laughed harder and the teenagers applauded Michelle while the Doctor stared at her in shock.

"Like I said, the children of this family are dangerous," Jack said.

They laughed even harder when the Doctor put his hand over his crotch and scooted towards Lori while keeping his eye on Michelle.

"Mommy could kick you in the ding ding too," Michelle said.

Everyone laughed when the Doctor jumped up and kept his hands over his crotch while he looked around for a safe place. He walked over to Sarah Jane and sat down beside her.

"Ah, my faithful Sarah, you wouldn't kick me in the ding ding, would you?" he said to her.

Everyone laughed when Sarah Jane gave him a pointed look and raised her eyebrow. She laughed along with everyone else when the Doctor got up and looked around. He kept his hands over his crotch while he walked to Rose.

"Oh? Seriously? You think you're safe with me then?" Rose teased as the Doctor stood beside her. "I've got a cane, you know!"

"Blast, I can't win for losing!" the Doctor said and everyone laughed when he walked towards the barbecue grill.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

The Doctor finally set down beside Michelle and as soon as it got dark enough, the fireworks started. The children at the front of the blankets lay back while Michelle leaned against the Doctor and Little Tom sat beside Rose. Every time one of the loud booms went off, the Doctor rubbed Michelle's arm to comfort her when he felt her body stiffen.

"This is wonderful," Sylvia said to her father while they sat together at the picnic table and stared up at the sky. "Odd that we're in the US watching this but it's wonderful all the same."

"Yay, the Yanks are celebrating breaking it off with us, woooo!" Martha said, pumping the air with her fist.

"Should we stand up and yell out that the US should become a part of the British Empire again," Sarah Jane said to Martha.

Martha looked around at the throng of people around them all watching the skies.

"You first, love," Martha said while Sarah Jane chuckled.

As the fireworks rose to a climax, Lee Greenwood's God Bless The USA suddenly started playing out of speakers mounted in the trees around them.

"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free," they heard him singing while the fireworks boomed. "And I won't forget the men who died who gave that life to me…"

Jack suddenly rushed up to the front of the blankets and burst into song, singing a parody of the song.

"Yes, I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free," he sang to his family. "Because we kicked the British out of here, tee hee hee hee hee."

"Amen, Bro!" a man said who was sitting several feet away from them.

Jack waved at him while he raised his beer to him in salute. Everyone glanced at the man who was dressed in a red shirt, overalls, boots and a red trucker's hat.

"Okay, not saying anything with a British accent until we get back to the house," Martha said softly to everyone at the picnic table.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

The Doctor waited until the crowds around them were nearly gone before they packed up and headed back into the TARDIS.

"This…my friends and family is how one should travel," he crowed when everyone was finally inside. "No traffic, no fuss, just push a few buttons and pull a few levers…"

"And end up in the Stone Age," Donna said.

"Not always," the Doctor said while everyone laughed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

When they got back to the storage room, they decided to let Rex stay inside the TARDIS until the personal fireworks show had ended. They took them outside to the brick patio behind the house along with the canvas chairs and the blankets. The children and teens sat on the blankets with some of the adults while Rose, John, Alicia, Ruth, Martha and Donna sat in the chairs.

The Doctor brought out the crystal and turned it on and Amy and Rory waved at everyone and wished them a happy Fourth of July.

Jim and Dan took the fireworks out to the end of the brick patio and lit them one by one, dashing away as soon as the fuse was lit. They lit fountains that threw colored sparks up into the night air while everyone ooed and awed at them. But occasionally one fountain had loud, ear-piercing shriek that went with it and the younger children covered their ears while the adults winced at the noise.

"Got any boomy ones that will scare Shelly senseless?" the Doctor teased after they lit a few firecrackers.

"Got any bottle rockets we can shove up the Doctor's bum?" Amy said.

"That wasn't nice, Pond. That's very unangelic of you," the Doctor said to her.

"I'm not an angel," Amy said, shrugging. "Angels are an entirely different species from humans, sorry."

"Well, you can refrain from saying those sorts of things anyway," the Doctor said to her.

"He still thinks I'm under his control, you notice that?" Amy said to her husband.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Okay, we've let off the really exciting stuff. All that's left are the snakes," Jim said to everyone when the last fountain fizzled out.

"Snakes?" the Doctor said, frowning.

Jim went inside for a moment, turned on the patio lights and he got in close to everyone as he laid four tiny black discs on the ground in front of them. He lit them until black ash began to rise up out of them in a snakelike coil. The Doctor frowned while he watched them, wrinkling his nose at the acrid smell the things were giving off. While they were doing that, Dan lit sparklers and passed them out to everyone. The Doctor finally activated his bypass system so he wouldn't smell the foul odor any longer and leaned in, waiting for the ash to do something. To his astonishment, they fizzled out after the ash grew about a foot long.

"That's it? That's rubbish," the Doctor said while everyone laughed.

"I said the most exciting ones were done with, now you get crap," Jim teased as he pointed to the ash.

"I see. Well, keep on with the crap, I'm heading inside for a pee," the Doctor said, getting up while everyone laughed harder.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

After they were done, they let Rex out of the TARDIS and debated on whether or not to go ahead and go to the house in London.

"Let's stay one more night, Daddy," Michelle said. "We can camp out down here."

Jim looked at Lori when the other children and teens echoed that sentiment.

"Everyone else okay with that?" he said.

"I think we'll go ahead and go home," Alicia said while Great Uncle Tom nodded. "I'm too old to be sleeping on the floor but I had so much fun."

"We better head home as well," Ruth said. "We're going to miss you but I suppose the Doctor could bring us all over there once in awhile."

"Doctor, would you mind taking us back to our cars now?" Ruth asked him.

"Not at all and I'll give you some more Ambrosia to take with you," the Doctor said.

"Good, I was hoping he'd offer that," Ruth said while everyone laughed.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

Jim built a fire and everyone spread out blankets and sleeping bags around the sofa bed and Rose and John's bed. Wilf and Sarah Jane shared the sofa bed and Rose and John shared their bed while everyone else and Rex slept around them.

"Strange that this is our last night now," Brittany said while she lay under a blue blanket.

"Yeah, it'll be weird living in London after spending so many years in this house," Lori said while she cuddled with her husband under a blanket.

"It'll be an adventure though," Sarah Jane said to them. "There'll be lots more to do than there is here. There are more opportunities for you and the children."

"And since you're wealthy now, you can afford to live there," Martha said.

"And you'll have all of us," Jack said. "So you have friends and family readymade when you get there."

"And I'll be away traveling and laughing at you homebound lot," the Doctor said.

"Oh? Mister Domestic who keeps coming back here," Rose said to him.

"I'm observing the humans like any good alien should," the Doctor said while everyone laughed. "It's a scientific thing. You wouldn't understand," he said, waving his hand dismissively.

"So is that what I was then? A scientific observation?" Rose teased.

"Yes and your husband was what I like to call…what would happen if I had a clone? And see, I found out what would happen so there you have it."

"You're silly," Mandy said.

"No, Ps and Qs, I'm scientific, there's a difference," the Doctor said to her.

There was silence for a moment and then suddenly there was a short little fart.

"Ew, who did that?" Jack said while everyone giggled.

"I pooted," Mandy said.

"Okay, whoever is next to Ps and Qs, get out of there now before you get gassed to death!" the Doctor said while everyone laughed.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

The house they were moving into was in the heart of Mayfair. It was an old brick Georgian detached house, three stories with plenty of room for everyone. They gave John and Rose the guest room on the floor so they wouldn't have to climb the stairs. The bedroom was still lavish with cream colored wallpaper and matching carpeting. The room had an adjoining bathroom with toilet and even the bathroom was spacious and lavish. Because they already bought a better bed for them, they put the hospital bed back in the TARDIS med bay. The children each had a bedroom with their own bathrooms and Lori and Jim had the same. They even had a few spare bedrooms for visitors, friends and the Doctor and Donna. The Doctor and Donna stayed long enough to make sure that everyone was settled in and all the furniture had been moved into the house before telling everyone goodbye, promising that he would see all of them again in the future. When he got to Rose, he hugged her tight and kissed her forehead.

"Beware this lot, they can drive you round the bend if you let them," he said to her.

"Nah, I traveled with you and stayed sane, I'll be alright," Rose said, with a shrug.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that," the Doctor said while she chuckled. "And tell you I will see you again so you and John get well so we can have some fun in future."

"Oh? You want me to travel with you again?" Rose said, raising her eyebrow.

"I do and Donna does as well. But John can come as well, you did a good job taming him," he said to her.

"Wasn't much to tame. He wasn't that dangerous, Doctor," Rose said.

"I know that now," the Doctor said, nodding. "I let anger cloud my judgment."

"And that's why everyone keeps saying you need to have people with you when you travel," Rose said. "So I'm glad Donna is with you. She'll look after you and keep you from going off your trolley."

The Doctor chuckled.

"You couldn't be more right about that."

He hugged her tightly, kissed her cheek and whispered his goodbye to her. Rose let out and squeezed his hand briefly before watching him head towards the TARDIS.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

(One month later…)

Mandy was skipping down the hallway of their new home while singing a little song to herself. Everyone else was in the lounge watching TV but Mandy was bored with doing that and decided to play by herself.

She stopped skipping and spun around when she heard the familiar wheezing sound coming from the kitchen. She squealed with delight and sped down the hallway to the kitchen. The TARDIS was in the corner of the room, next to the stove. Mandy hurried to the door and stopped when the door opened. She was shocked when the Doctor didn't step out; instead a lizard woman stepped out and looked down at her.

"Hello there, young human. I am Madam Vastra, is this the Stevens' residence?" she said to her.

Mandy didn't say anything for a moment, staring at the lizard woman with wide eyes. Then she suddenly ran out of the room, screaming for her parents to come into the kitchen. The Doctor stepped out beside Madam Vastra.

"Was that Ps and Qs?" he asked Vastra.

"I do not know, she was tiny though," Vastra said.

"IN HERE, MOMMY!"

"Yup, that's Ps and Qs," the Doctor said when they heard Mandy squealing.

Mandy stopped at the doorway and the Doctor waved cheerfully. Seeing him, Mandy relaxed and walked towards him while Lori, Jim, Rose, John and the children stepped into the room. Meanwhile, Donna came out of the TARDIS behind the Doctor.

"Sorry, he thought it'd be funny if his old friend came out first and scared someone," Donna said to them.

"Sorry, I would like to introduce Madam Vastra, an old friend as Donna has astutely pointed out. She is a Silurian. May we come in?"

"Sure, come in and have some tea," Lori said.

"Ah, tea sounds perfect," the Doctor said, letting out a contented sigh as Donna shut the door and they went into the lounge to relax.

THE END.


End file.
